Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1,889.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,221 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,551 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.3% of Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 2,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 104,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,352,000 after acquiring an additional 12,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $114,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’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 research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.