Chilton Capital Management LLC Sells 1,426 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Chilton Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,426 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co grew its position in 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 period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.54 on Friday. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $106.49. The company has a market cap of $218.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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.