Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,026 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 644 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $10,774,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 198.5% during the second quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 5,613 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.9% during the second quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 24,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 5,137 shares in the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% during the second quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 1,057,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,742,000 after buying an additional 97,503 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $215.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.75. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.07.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank cut shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.