Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Beech Hill Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.8% during Q2, bringing its total holding to 39,448 shares, valued at approximately $3.12 million.
• Merck recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, while its revenue for the quarter was $15.81 billion, slightly below the forecast.
• Current analyst consensus has a "Hold" rating for Merck stock, with an average target price of $104.33, following several recent adjustments from various financial institutions.

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,448 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,279 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.0% during the second quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,677 shares of the company's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 270,155 shares of the company's stock worth $21,382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,322 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 538,713 shares of the company's stock worth $42,638,000 after purchasing an additional 28,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.9% in the second quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 10,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,352 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.03 and a 200 day moving average of $81.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus 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.

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