Cherokee Insurance Co Makes New $1.15 Million Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cherokee Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 14,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,148,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $91.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $84.90 and a 200 day moving average of $82.25. The company has a market capitalization of $226.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.