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

King Luther Capital Management Corp lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund 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 large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Round Rock Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% in the second quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 9,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the third quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 13,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Code Waechter LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% in the third quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 2,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $147.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $363.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.83, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $146.34 and its 200-day moving average is $128.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $90.90 and a one year high of $156.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Broker upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. DZ Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $153.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Argus started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. They issued a “strong-buy” rating for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.