Phoenix Financial Ltd. Sells 46,017 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.1%, selling 46,017 shares, leaving it with 45,838 shares valued at approximately $3.645 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds significantly hold 76.07% of Merck's stock, with several firms, including Berkeley Capital Partners and DekaBank, increasing their positions in the second quarter.
• Merck's current stock price is $87.61 with a market cap of $218.83 billion, and it recently set a fiscal year 2025 earnings guidance of $8.870-$8.970 EPS.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 45,838 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,017 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Berkeley Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,814,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.7% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,427,912 shares of the company's stock worth $430,098,000 after acquiring an additional 37,306 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the second quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 6,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $232,000. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the second quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 432,038 shares of the company's stock worth $34,200,000 after acquiring an additional 21,675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. One 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.5%

MRK stock opened at $87.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $218.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $107.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS 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 during 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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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