Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 65.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,691 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,779 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $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 lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $87.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $217.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $84.55 and its 200-day moving average is $81.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.