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

Sculati Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,268 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th 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 during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 49,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after acquiring an additional 2,572 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.6% in the first quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.2% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 163.4% during the first quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $93.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $85.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.