Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 47.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,169 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,559 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Round Rock Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Argus started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. DZ Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $153.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $147.27 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.90 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The stock has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.83, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $146.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.