Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 101,356 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 544,377 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,356 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.6% of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.34 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.08. The firm has a market cap of $214.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for 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%.The firm’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

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

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.