Easterly Investment Partners LLC Buys 80,428 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Easterly Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 204.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 119,853 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,428 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.1% of Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE MRK traded up $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $101.88. 1,672,048 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,821,390. The stock has a market cap of $258.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, 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 quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $111.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $98.60 and a 1 year high of $134.63.

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

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.