China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,101 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,985 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.8% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,121,372,000 after buying an additional 114,080 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,362,812 shares of the company's stock worth $1,102,135,000 after purchasing an additional 56,644 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company's stock worth $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.47 on Tuesday, hitting $103.76. The company had a trading volume of 9,295,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,789,110. The company's fifty day moving average price is $113.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.44. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $134.63. The company has a market capitalization of $262.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 1.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 40.69% and a net margin of 21.99%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.46.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.