Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 817 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,938 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $788,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Radnor Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the third quarter. Radnor Capital Management LLC now owns 530,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,245,000 after purchasing an additional 10,827 shares in the last quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the third quarter. Wisconsin Capital Management LLC now owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the third quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 17,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,703 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% in the third quarter. Long Run Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 31,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,592,000 after purchasing an additional 4,027 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.65 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.60 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $111.71 and its 200-day moving average is $120.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $257.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.93.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.