Chiron Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Chiron Capital Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,651 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,412 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.0% of Chiron Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Chiron Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup began coverage on 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $93.00 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The stock has a market cap of $230.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.