M&G Plc Acquires 94,981 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

M&G Plc lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 536,576 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,981 shares during the period. M&G Plc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $61,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $7,211,000 after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in 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 valued at $60,056,000 after buying an additional 181,520 shares in the last quarter. Latko Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,296,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 39,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,879,000 after buying an additional 10,299 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $100.72 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $98.60 and a twelve month high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $111.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $120.33. The company has a market capitalization of $255.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.93.

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.