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

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $88.12 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.11.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

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.