Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co

Key Points

• PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.3%, now owning 77,375 shares worth approximately $6.1 million.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering it from $97.00 to $90.00 and Citigroup issuing a new target of $95.00.
• Merck reported earnings per share of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, while setting an EPS guidance of 8.870-8.970 for FY 2025.

PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,375 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,483 shares during the quarter. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in 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 lifted its stake in 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 lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report 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 report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $87.54 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a PEG 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 $106.49. The business's 50-day moving average is $84.43 and its 200 day moving average is $81.54.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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.

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