First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 17,254 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its stake in Merck by 20.7%, selling 17,254 shares, leaving them with 65,962 shares valued at approximately $5.22 million.
• Other institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in Merck during the same period, with Charles Schwab boosting its stake by 144.6% to own over 49 million shares.
• Merck's latest earnings report showed $2.13 EPS, exceeding expectations, and the company provided FY 2025 guidance for earnings between $8.870 - $8.970 per share.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,962 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,254 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.60 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $218.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.28 and a 200-day moving average of $81.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $107.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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