Freestone Capital Holdings LLC Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Freestone Capital Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 84,876 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,135 shares during the period. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,719,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in 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. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.15 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 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 fifty day moving average price of $84.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.27, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.