Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,130 shares of the company’s stock after selling 887 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Scotiabank began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

MRK stock opened at $92.99 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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.