Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Has $2.39 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,188 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,100 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in 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. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.04. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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.