Archer Investment Corp Sells 5,584 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Archer Investment Corp trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,160 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,584 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in the 2nd quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wolfe Research began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $3.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.95. 2,607,245 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,843,112. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.48 and a fifty-two week high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $109.27 and its 200-day moving average is $119.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. The firm had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.