Sawgrass Asset Management LLC Has $563,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Sawgrass Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 38.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,145 shares during the period. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 105.4% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 164,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,747,000 after buying an additional 84,597 shares during the period. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 26,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the first quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,870,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed 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 for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.31 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $94.48 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.