GGM Financials LLC Acquires Shares of 2,055 Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital World Investors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after acquiring an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,372,000 after purchasing an additional 114,080 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,402,000 after purchasing an additional 64,996 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,201,926 shares of the company’s stock valued at $767,965,000 after purchasing an additional 431,074 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $100.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $111.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $255.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.