Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock Position Boosted by S&CO Inc.

S&CO Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 403,312 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 3.0% of S&CO Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. S&CO Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $45,800,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,088 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 105.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 164,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,747,000 after buying an additional 84,597 shares during the last quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department now owns 26,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% during the first quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 127,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,870,000 after acquiring an additional 4,360 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $96.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $108.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.90. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market cap of $243.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Daiwa America lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.86.

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.