Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych

Key Points

• Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych increased its holdings in Merck & Co. by 42.0%, acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the second quarter, bringing its total to 14,200 shares valued at approximately $1.12 million.
• Recently, several hedge funds have invested in Merck, leading to 76.07% of the company's stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Merck reported an earnings per share of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, but its revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of expectations.

Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 42.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,200 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned 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, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $217.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $106.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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