Rossmore Private Capital Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Rossmore Private Capital increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 72,898 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 430 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.0% of Rossmore Private Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Rossmore Private Capital’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the first quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 4,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $584,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zega Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $343,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE MRK opened at $98.54 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.50 and a 52 week high of $134.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $110.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.