Lewis Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Lewis Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 29.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,819 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 55,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,088 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 10,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 122.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 186,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,635,000 after buying an additional 102,841 shares in the last quarter. Loews Corp purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $14,514,000. Finally, CNA Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $14,514,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $98.60 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The stock has a market cap of $256.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $111.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $123.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $129.80.

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.