Sector Gamma AS Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sector Gamma AS has acquired 202,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. valued at approximately $15.99 million, making it the 5th largest position in their portfolio.
• Institutional investors hold 76.07% of Merck's shares, with significant increases in stakes from firms like Charles Schwab and Pacer Advisors.
• Despite recent analyst rating changes and a lowered price target, Merck reported a higher-than-expected EPS of $2.13 for the last quarter.

Sector Gamma AS acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 202,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,990,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 5.2% of Sector Gamma AS's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock worth $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated 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 issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $106.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. 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 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.

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.