Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 34,312 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 102.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,790 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,312 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,698,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth $34,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $96.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $244.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.48 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’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 year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. Barclays lowered their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

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.