Interchange Capital Partners LLC Has $1.34 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Interchange Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,793 shares of the company’s stock after selling 182 shares during the quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC grew 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd 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. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $101.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,320,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,818,670. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $256.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $112.58 and its 200-day moving average is $121.04.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.