Next Capital Management LLC Buys 1,447 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Next Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,814 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Next Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the second quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 205,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,246,000 after purchasing an additional 5,226 shares during the last quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 23,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,901,000 after buying an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 84,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,719,000 after buying an additional 13,135 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $645,000. Finally, W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co now owns 111,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,794,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $82.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.89. The stock has a market cap of $206.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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.