Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 45,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,151,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% in the second 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, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.39 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $101.56. 574,217 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,815,160. The stock has a market capitalization of $257.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.33. 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. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.80.

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.