Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 737,967 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,773 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $58,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.2% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.4% in the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 760 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.5% in the first quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,408,000 after buying an additional 2,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $93.00 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.38. The company has a market cap of $230.82 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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 restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

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.