Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 83.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,664 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $327,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $103.98 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $263.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.59.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated 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 target on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.46.

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.