Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys 327,192 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 795,536 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327,192 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $90,341,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 149,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,953,000 after acquiring an additional 4,298 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 12,078 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. ROI Financial Advisors LLC now owns 14,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 50,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,743,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bell Bank raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bell Bank now owns 10,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $98.84. The stock had a trading volume of 516,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,839,464. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $109.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $250.03 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.90 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current 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.