Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Modera Wealth Management LLC

Modera Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 45,255 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,910 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,582,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Middleton & Co. Inc. MA now owns 145,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,553,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Souders Financial Advisors raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 118.6% during the 2nd quarter. Souders Financial Advisors now owns 5,884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares during the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.8% during the 2nd quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC now owns 564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 157,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,502,000 after acquiring an additional 19,055 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.34 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $215.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’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. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.