Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stake Increased by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,944 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,521 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 263.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,702,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $347,334,000 after buying an additional 1,959,778 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after buying an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $260,560,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Freedom Broker lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.83, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.90 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $146.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.