Altrius Capital Management Inc Has $4.42 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Altrius Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,827 shares during the quarter. Altrius Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,421,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Quarry LP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.3 %

MRK stock traded down $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $95.08. The company had a trading volume of 4,547,643 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,854,578. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $109.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.20. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $94.48 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $240.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.13 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of 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. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.