Rovin Capital UT ADV Acquires 732 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Rovin Capital UT ADV increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,119 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Rovin Capital UT ADV’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Little House Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,327,000 after purchasing an additional 79,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% in the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:MRK opened at $85.90 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $84.55 and its 200 day moving average is $81.98. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.