MV Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,789 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MV Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,595 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,789 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 282.0% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,707,000 after acquiring an additional 22,263 shares during the last quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% in the first quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 4,398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.5% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,467,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,958,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cable Hill Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8% during the first quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 9,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. 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 research report on Monday, November 3rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $91.43 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.94 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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.