Genus Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Genus Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,305 shares during the period. Genus Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK opened at $84.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $210.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.95.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

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.