Principle Wealth Partners LLC Has $6.08 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 76,755 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,697 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.60 on Thursday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $84.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $107.36. The firm has a market cap of $218.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.