Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Newly Purchased by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 20,452 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,972,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Curry Webb Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Horizons Wealth Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Graney & King LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 400.0% during the 2nd quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 250 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Foresight Capital Management Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.83, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a current ratio of 1.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.90 and a fifty-two week high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Argus began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. They set a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

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.