Harbour Investments Inc. Has $2.19 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Harbour Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,154 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $43,000 after buying an additional 32,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1 %

MRK opened at $98.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $249.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $119.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.90 and a twelve month high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 36.42%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Daiwa America downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.