Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 7,059 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 528,325 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,059 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $60,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $96.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a fifty day moving average of $108.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.60.

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

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.