Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 124,912 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,982,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. 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. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $87.54 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.55. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $106.49.

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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

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.