Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by WNY Asset Management LLC

WNY Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 9,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 445 shares during the period. WNY Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Richardson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $109,000. Beaton Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the first quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 20,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

MRK stock opened at $87.13 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.67. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $217.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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 reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.