Narwhal Capital Management Buys 15,510 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Narwhal Capital Management raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 141,743 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,510 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.4% of Narwhal Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $16,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.6% in the second quarter. IRON Financial LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 10,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $106.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $114.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $122.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $99.80 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $270.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.51, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.