Executive Wealth Management LLC Has $11.71 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Executive Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 56.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 103,084 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 37,059 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.5% of Executive Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Executive Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $102.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $260.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $120.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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 the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect 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.