Souders Financial Advisors Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Souders Financial Advisors raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 118.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,884 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares during the quarter. Souders Financial Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Rogco LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in the first quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, tru Independence LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the first quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 50,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,576,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $85.90 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07. The company has a market capitalization of $214.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $84.55 and a 200 day moving average of $81.98. 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, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 earnings per share 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.