Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Burney Co.

Burney Co. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,446 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Little House Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,327,000 after purchasing an additional 79,529 shares during the period. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% during the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.89. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.