Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 41,268 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Machina Capital S.A.S. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 87.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,268 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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 note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began 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 for the company. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.93 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $209.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.49 and its 200 day moving average is $81.94. 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. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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.