Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Decreased by Compass Capital Management Inc.

Compass Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 510,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,841 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 4.7% of Compass Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Compass Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $74,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 226,999,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,169,479,000 after buying an additional 1,073,507 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,413,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,573,754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087,583 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,249,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,083,033,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934,312 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 41,699,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,059,345,000 after purchasing an additional 3,183,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,774,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,701,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919,780 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5%

MRK opened at $147.74 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.49 and a 12 month high of $156.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.61. The company has a market cap of $364.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 152.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.74 and a beta of 0.13.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.40. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.73% and a net margin of 3.64%. The company had revenue of $18.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Investors following MRK have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: The EMA’s CHMP recommended expanding ENFLONSIA’s use to help prevent severe RSV lower respiratory tract disease in vulnerable children up to 24 months old, including through their second RSV season. The broader eligible population could support the medicine’s commercial opportunity in Europe. Merck ENFLONSIA CHMP recommendation
• Positive Sentiment: The CHMP also recommended WELIREG plus lenvatinib for adults with advanced clear-cell renal cell carcinoma after anti-PD-1/PD-L1 treatment. This would extend WELIREG into another treatment setting and expand Merck’s oncology portfolio in Europe. Merck WELIREG CHMP recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Both decisions are CHMP recommendations; European Commission approval is still needed. Any financial contribution will also depend on launch timing, uptake and competition.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $179.00 to $177.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $143.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.74.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global pharmaceutical company that develops and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal-health products. The company’s research and commercial activities span areas including oncology, infectious diseases, vaccines, cardiovascular disease and immunology. Its products include the cancer medicine Keytruda and the Gardasil vaccine. Founded in the United States in 1891, Merck & Co. became an independent company in 1917. It is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, and operates internationally.