Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by King Luther Capital Management Corp

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,074,431 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,637 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $156,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $768,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 151,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,995,000 after acquiring an additional 17,995 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the third quarter. Advisor Resource Council now owns 11,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,556,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 51,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,548,000 after buying an additional 4,521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.0% in the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 36,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,256,000 after acquiring an additional 11,559 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $147.27 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.90 and a 1-year high of $156.92. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.34 and a 200-day moving average of $128.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 151.83, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.74.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.