Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Pinnacle Associates Ltd.

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 442,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $35,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Advantage Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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.