Cardano Risk Management B.V. Has $92.59 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 815,349 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.6% of Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Cardano Risk Management B.V.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $92,591,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AM Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% during the second quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC now owns 326 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $42,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of MRK opened at $96.31 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $243.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.84 and a 200 day moving average of $118.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. Daiwa America cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.