Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. Acquires 3,103 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,305 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.2% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Southern Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,656 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058 shares during the last quarter. FCG Investment Co boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 12,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after acquiring an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 832,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,526,000 after acquiring an additional 8,967 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2 %

MRK stock traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $104.19. 1,367,308 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,759,757. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $99.80 and a 12 month high of $134.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $121.59. The company has a market capitalization of $263.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($2.06) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.46.

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.