Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 8,890 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5%, selling 8,890 shares, and now owns 242,663 shares valued at approximately $19.2 million.
• Analysts have lowered price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo cutting its target from $97 to $90, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Merck reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.10, and set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 242,663 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,890 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $19,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew 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 buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

MRK opened at $87.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.18 and a 200-day moving average of $81.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $107.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.