Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC

St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,695 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the quarter. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,322,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during 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 increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.61 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $107.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $84.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.39. 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 market cap of $218.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.