17,995 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,368 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,995 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,169,479,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,507 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087,583 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after purchasing an additional 1,934,312 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,701,831,000 after buying an additional 2,919,780 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 15,456,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,858,938,000 after buying an additional 2,969,856 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Freedom Broker raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $152.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $90.90 and a one year high of $156.92. The company has a market capitalization of $363.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.