State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 4,014 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5%, selling 4,014 shares and holding 850,055 shares valued at $67.29 million at the end of the latest reporting period.
• Merck's quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.13, while the company's revenue for the quarter was $15.81 billion, slightly below estimates.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on Merck, with one "Strong Buy," five "Buy," thirteen "Hold," and one "Sell," and a consensus price target of $104.33.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 850,055 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,014 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $67,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock worth $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $106.49. The firm has a market cap of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business's fifty day moving average is $84.43 and its 200 day moving average is $81.54.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock 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 research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.33.

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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