Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Raised by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 443,001 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,887 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $66,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Round Rock Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Somerset Trust Co grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 8,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 45,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.00, for a total value of $1,965,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,613 shares in the company, valued at $6,106,303. This represents a 24.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 156,685 shares of company stock valued at $20,764,839 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $170.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck began a Phase 3 trial of Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine) to assess whether it can prevent COPD exacerbations in higher-risk adults. A successful study could support the drug’s growth potential and broaden Merck’s pipeline. Merck initiates Phase 3 Ohtuvayre study
• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA granted emergency-use authorization for a Merck treatment against screwworm in dogs, providing a near-term product opportunity. Reuters report on FDA authorization
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck’s pipeline is being viewed as a potential future growth driver, and its CEO has targeted $70 billion in revenue in the mid-2030s. However, the outlook depends on development and launch execution. Article on Merck’s pipeline and growth outlook
• Negative Sentiment: DZ Bank downgraded MRK from Buy to Hold, despite setting a $153 price target. The move adds to caution around the stock; commentary also points to the looming patent cliff as a key longer-term risk. DZ Bank rating change

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of MRK opened at $144.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.01 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The stock has a market cap of $356.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 148.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.56% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global healthcare company that develops, manufactures and markets prescription medicines, vaccines and animal-health products. Its pharmaceutical business focuses on oncology, infectious diseases, cardiology, immunology and other areas of significant medical need. The company serves patients, healthcare providers and institutions in markets worldwide.

Merck’s principal products include Keytruda, an immunotherapy used to treat a range of cancers; Gardasil and Gardasil 9, vaccines that help protect against human papillomavirus; and Januvia and Janumet, medicines used to manage type 2 diabetes.