Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Acquires 6,322 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 270,155 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,322 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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 assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of MRK opened at $86.30 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.17. The firm has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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.