Kestra Advisory Services LLC Acquires 15,025 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Kestra Advisory Services increased its Merck stake by 4.6%, buying 15,025 shares in the third quarter to hold 338,758 shares valued at about $49.2 million.
• Merck reported quarterly EPS of $2.49, beating the $2.09 consensus, while revenue of $18.09 billion rose 4.7% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $155.74; shares recently traded at $146.90.

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 338,758 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,025 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $49,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Leerink Partners raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $153.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Freedom Broker upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $146.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,626,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,275,775. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.24 and a 12-month high of $156.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $146.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $362.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 151.44, a PEG ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 16.56%. The business had revenue of $18.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $17.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer Zachary sold 80,315 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.46, for a total value of $10,718,839.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 45,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,073,631.14. The trade was a 63.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chirfi Guindo sold 10,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $1,350,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,942,755. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 135,635 shares of company stock worth $18,011,040. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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