Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Lifted by Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 183,897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,204 shares during the quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $20,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after purchasing an additional 427,831 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $48,921,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 485,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,056,000 after buying an additional 181,520 shares during the period. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $3,296,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

MRK traded down $0.80 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,131,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,829,772. The stock has a market capitalization of $252.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.60 and a 52 week high of $134.63.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.