Northcape Wealth Management LLC Sells 18,750 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 70.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,750 shares during the quarter. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of 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 given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 4.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $84.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.89. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research 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.