Toth Financial Advisory Corp Sells 500 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 41.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $80,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 35,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,026,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Violich Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the third quarter. Violich Capital Management Inc. now owns 91,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,360,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% during the third quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 32,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 176,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,036,000 after acquiring an additional 3,198 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. Wolfe Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $106.34 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $99.80 and a 1 year high of $134.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $114.16 and its 200-day moving average is $122.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $269.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.16, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.