McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. Buys 11,666 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,781 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,666 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 2.3% of McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. McGinn Penninger Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,703,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in 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 last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $43,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during 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. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

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.