Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,031 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Western Wealth Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,517 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,031 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Fountainhead AM LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in the first quarter. Fountainhead AM LLC now owns 3,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $122,000. OneAscent Family Office LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the first quarter. OneAscent Family Office LLC now owns 2,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $379,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup initiated 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. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $93.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $231.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.