Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 27,230 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 72.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,146 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,230 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $803,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 726 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Rogco LP increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, tru Independence LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.8%

MRK stock opened at $85.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $84.55 and its 200-day moving average is $81.98. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The firm has a market cap of $214.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. 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. Equities 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.