Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Purchased by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 345,437 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,667 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.0% of AIA Group Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $39,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after acquiring an additional 427,831 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $48,921,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.8% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 485,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,056,000 after acquiring an additional 181,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth $3,296,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $101.19 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $256.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $111.37 and a 200 day moving average of $120.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $98.60 and a 12 month 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $136.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.