Northcape Wealth Management LLC Acquires 2,238 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,544 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 93,816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,379,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 164,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,747,000 after acquiring an additional 84,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 32,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,270,000 after purchasing an additional 3,045 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.1 %

MRK stock opened at $96.30 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $243.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.48 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.