Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $4.98 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 63,127 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,035 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,979,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

MRK stock opened at $86.15 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.82.

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.