Privium Fund Management B.V. Has $4.83 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Privium Fund Management B.V. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,093 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,000 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.0% of Privium Fund Management B.V.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Privium Fund Management B.V.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $109.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.