Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,355,950 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 518,270 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.25% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $721,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% in 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 buying an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.9% during the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 19,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 4,643 shares during the last quarter. Chapman Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 9,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9 %

MRK stock opened at $100.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $255.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $111.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $120.33. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 37.32% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Barclays cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.