Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Reduced by Lodestone Wealth Management LLC

Lodestone Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,175 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.8% of Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Patron Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 10,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 247,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,636,000 after purchasing an additional 22,578 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,921,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.88 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $258.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.