Allianz SE Buys 1,007 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Allianz SE grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 104,083 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Allianz SE’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first 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. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $91.43 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.25. The firm has a market cap of $226.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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 objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. 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 note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.