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

Key Points

• Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.8% during the second quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $4.83 million, making the stock the 15th largest in its portfolio.
• Analysts have issued various ratings on Merck's stock, with one downgrade from a "buy" to a "hold" and a consensus target price of $104.33, indicating mixed market sentiment towards the company's future performance.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, surpassing analyst estimates, although revenue fell short of expectations at $15.81 billion.

Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 43.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,093 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Little House Capital LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

MRK stock opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $109.17. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $84.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $215.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.