Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Bought by RBA Wealth Management LLC

RBA Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,097 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.9% of RBA Wealth Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. RBA Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,894,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 during the period. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $106.72. 6,697,645 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,772,504. The company has a market capitalization of $270.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($2.06) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.62.

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.