Breed s Hill Capital LLC Sells 874 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Breed s Hill Capital LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 874 shares during the quarter. Breed s Hill Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $284,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $91.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.25. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

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.