OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $84.28 and its 200 day moving average is $81.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $107.36.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.