Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Increased by Paulson Wealth Management Inc.

Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 115.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,692 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,725 shares during the quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $212,000. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 191,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,175,000 after buying an additional 8,643 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 51,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares during the period. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 30,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,434,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.8%

Merck & Co., Inc. 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.98. The company has a market capitalization 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 posted 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reiterated 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 research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.