Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 1,944 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,626 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co increased 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.11. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.60. The firm has a market cap of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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.