Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 364.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 344,154 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 270,106 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.0% of Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $39,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $106.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $270.96 billion, a PE ratio of 118.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($2.06) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.