Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Has $256,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. cut its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 98.3% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 183,293 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.5% in the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,633,000 after acquiring an additional 11,454 shares in the last quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 8,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the first quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 42,807 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 3,685 shares during the period. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 282.0% during the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK opened at $86.79 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $84.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.13. 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 capitalization of $215.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

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.