Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 280,224 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,797 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.2 %

MRK stock opened at $98.54 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.50 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Guggenheim cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

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.