Blume Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Blume Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 83.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,254 shares during the period. Blume Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $174,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth about $1,866,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $111.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $116.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.37 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.