Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Has $8.86 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 78,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,087 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 63,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,211,000 after purchasing an additional 8,985 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 114.2% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 802,384 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,205,000 after buying an additional 427,831 shares during the period. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $48,921,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 59.8% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 485,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,056,000 after acquiring an additional 181,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Latko Wealth Management Ltd. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,296,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $102.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $260.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.03. 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. has a 52-week low of $98.60 and a 52-week high of $134.63.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 37.32%. The company had revenue of $16.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased 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 report on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

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.