Arrowroot Family Office LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Arrowroot Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,712 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

MRK opened at $84.39 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $84.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.95. 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 firm has a market cap of $210.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 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 period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

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.