Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. Sells 836 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Charter Research & Investment Group Inc. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 836 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 2.0% of Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Charter Research & Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,676,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $91.43 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s 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. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.