Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Sells 14,614 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7%, selling 14,614 shares and owning a total of 379,060 shares valued at approximately $30 million as of the latest reporting period.
• Several institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in Merck, with over 76% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors, highlighting significant market interest.
• Merck recently reported earnings surpassing expectations with $2.13 EPS compared to the forecasted $2.03, although revenue slightly missed consensus estimates.

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 379,060 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,614 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd 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 holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced 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 report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $87.60 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $218.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $107.36. 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 200-day moving average price is $81.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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.