Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 177,442 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,263 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Convergence Financial LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the first quarter. Convergence Financial LLC now owns 10,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% in the first quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 29,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $87.54 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $84.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.55. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $106.49. The company has a market capitalization of $218.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.33.

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.