Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Princeton Global Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Princeton Global Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.8% in Q2, selling 5,998 shares, leaving them with 3,396 shares valued at $269,000.
• Several hedge funds adjusted their positions in Merck during the same period, with CORDA Investment Management LLC increasing their stake by 5.3% to own 432,038 shares.
• Analyst ratings for Merck have varied, with Citigroup initiating coverage with a "neutral" rating and a target price of $95, while Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating.

Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 63.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,396 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,998 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CORDA Investment Management LLC. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 432,038 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,200,000 after purchasing an additional 21,675 shares in the last quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 16,270 shares of the company's stock worth $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter. FLC Capital Advisors now owns 84,529 shares of the company's stock worth $6,691,000 after acquiring an additional 4,923 shares in the last quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,463 shares of the company's stock worth $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 1,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 4,773 shares of the company's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.17. The business's 50 day moving average is $84.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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.

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