Carret Asset Management LLC Buys 1,170 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

by · The Markets Daily

Carret Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 80,276 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,170 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.0% of Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the third quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 12,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,457,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the third quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 168,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,106,000 after acquiring an additional 3,908 shares in the last quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the third quarter. Bristlecone Advisors LLC now owns 22,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,427,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $612,942,000 after acquiring an additional 171,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 123,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,007,000 after acquiring an additional 1,706 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $103.98 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $263.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $113.52 and its 200 day moving average is $121.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.50.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

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