Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,246,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,011 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $98,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.5% in the second quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 91,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,251,000 after buying an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 145,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,486,000 after buying an additional 30,400 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 18,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 264,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,963,000 after acquiring an additional 34,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 21,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $93.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $230.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 $105.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

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.