David Michael Williams Sells 8,614 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) Stock

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.39 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.00, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

Institutional Trading of Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SPC Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% during the third quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 16,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,347,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 25,227 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,274,000 after buying an additional 791 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.8% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 68,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,668,000 after buying an additional 4,927 shares during the period. Quaker Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% during the third quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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.