Bristlecone Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 57.4% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,975 shares during the period. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.7% during the first quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 3,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.8% during the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303 shares in the last quarter. Yukon Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% in the first quarter. PICTET BANK & TRUST Ltd now owns 14,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 989 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.52 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.59 and its 200 day moving average is $81.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.