Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 544,377 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 101,356 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $86.34 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $214.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.30, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.08. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.