Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $588.68 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1%, now holding approximately 7.44 million shares valued at $588.68 million.
• Institutional investors own 76.07% of Merck & Co., with several firms recently adjusting their holdings, indicating active investment interest in the company.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03, although its revenue fell slightly short of expectations at $15.81 billion.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,436,596 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 150,919 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $588,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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 holdings in shares of 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. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note 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 set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.53 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $106.49. The firm has a market cap of $218.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $84.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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