Middleton & Co. Inc. MA Buys 648 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Middleton & Co. Inc. MA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,949 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.3% of Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.8% during the first quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 32,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,952,000 after acquiring an additional 7,154 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.0% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 56,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 11,708 shares in the last quarter. Trek Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the first quarter. Trek Financial LLC now owns 17,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,601 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CORDA Investment Management LLC. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.4% during the first quarter. CORDA Investment Management LLC. now owns 410,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,834,000 after acquiring an additional 93,219 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.39 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.95. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $210.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.