Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,892 shares of the company’s stock after selling 365 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $258,267,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $109.17. The stock has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.