Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 7,134 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,285,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,134 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $101,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 79,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

MRK opened at $87.25 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $217.92 billion, a PE ratio of 13.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.37 and a 200-day moving average of $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $106.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.