Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 597,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,610 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.6% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $67,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 121.8% in 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. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.7% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $143.00 to $132.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised Merck & Co., Inc. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $106.66 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $99.80 and a 52-week high of $134.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day moving average is $122.04. The company has a market cap of $270.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.51, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.12. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 40.69%. The firm had revenue of $16.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($2.06) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.