Aigen Investment Management LP Sells 4,491 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Aigen Investment Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,491 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,821,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 13,954,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,841,233,000 after buying an additional 5,627,923 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 9,874,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,372,000 after purchasing an additional 114,080 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,693,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,402,000 after buying an additional 64,996 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.6% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 7,530,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,095,694 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 6,537,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,358,000 after buying an additional 43,578 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.8 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.93. 2,131,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,829,772. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.73. The company has a market capitalization of $252.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 19.23% and a return on equity of 36.42%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Bank of America cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.