Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,668 shares during the period. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Advantage Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade 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. Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $86.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $84.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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.