Bank of Marin Buys 1,100 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank of Marin grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,769 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Bank of Marin’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying 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 about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% in the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $3.33 on Friday, reaching $95.03. 2,722,060 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,848,791. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $240.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.20.

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.