Good Life Advisors LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,663 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,141 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 raised its position 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $92.99 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $230.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $85.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. 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 results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

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.