Fielder Capital Group LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Fielder Capital Group LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 171 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. 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 target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.54 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $106.49. The firm has a market cap of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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