Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Trimmed by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,997,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,133,427 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,741,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Little House Capital LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the second 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. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.15 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $84.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.86.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.