Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Pittenger & Anderson Inc.

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,365 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,814,000 after buying an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,427,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,098,000 after buying an additional 37,306 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 6,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $232,000. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% during the second quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 432,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,200,000 after buying an additional 21,675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. 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. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $109.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.35. The firm has a market capitalization 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup initiated 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 for the company. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

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.