Balboa Wealth Partners Buys 378 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Balboa Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in 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 boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.03 and its 200 day moving average is $81.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $109.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.