Reliant Investment Partners LLC Sells 416 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Reliant Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,764 shares of the company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Reliant Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

MRK stock opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.60.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.