Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 71.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,592 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,723 shares during the quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut 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 began 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. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $83.93 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.07. The stock has a market cap of $209.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $84.49 and a 200-day moving average of $81.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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