Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,263,286 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,257 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.5% of Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $143,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,475.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 35,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 32,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.5% during the third quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 379 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.93.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $102.41 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $259.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $112.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $120.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal 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.