Good Life Advisors LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Good Life Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,663 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,141 shares during the quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $92.99 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.