Zevin Asset Management LLC Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Zevin Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. Zevin Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. ETF Store Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the second quarter. ETF Store Inc. now owns 2,664 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 10,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $846,000 after acquiring an additional 5,725 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $212,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 191,705 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,175,000 after purchasing an additional 8,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Excalibur Management Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 51,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.89 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.55 and a 200 day moving average of $81.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $214.53 billion, a PE ratio of 13.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

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.