Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $37.66 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 475,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,563 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $37,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 282.0% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 30,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 22,263 shares in the last quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 6,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 49,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,465,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 203,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,262,000 after buying an additional 8,397 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $92.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $85.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.33. The company has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Scotiabank started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut 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 given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.50.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.