SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Acquires 9,163 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 52,943 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,163 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.4% of SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.15 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $215.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.57 and its 200 day moving average is $81.82.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.