Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.

Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,244 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Signet Investment Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.