Principal Securities Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,298 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.87 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $98.60 and a one year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $258.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 posted $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

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.