Metis Global Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,415 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.04. The stock has a market cap of $215.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities 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.