Cornerstone Advisors LLC Buys 60,548 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cornerstone Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 60,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,798,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew 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 valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% during the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MRK opened at $147.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $364.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.49 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $146.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.61. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.73%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Investors following MRK have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: The EMA’s CHMP recommended expanding ENFLONSIA’s use to help prevent severe RSV lower respiratory tract disease in vulnerable children up to 24 months old, including through their second RSV season. The broader eligible population could support the medicine’s commercial opportunity in Europe. Merck ENFLONSIA CHMP recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: The CHMP also recommended WELIREG plus lenvatinib for adults with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma after anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. This would extend WELIREG into another treatment setting and expand Merck’s oncology portfolio in Europe. Merck WELIREG CHMP recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Both decisions are CHMP recommendations; European Commission approval is still needed. Any financial contribution will also depend on launch timing, uptake and competition.

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.