Clark Asset Management LLC Makes New $218,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Clark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during 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 bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MRK opened at $87.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $217.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 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. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.67.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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.