Y.D. More Investments Ltd Sells 589 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Y.D. More Investments Ltd cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 589 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $92.94 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $230.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.