Phoenix Wealth Advisors Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Phoenix Wealth Advisors trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 77.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,036 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,525 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $92.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $85.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.33. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.07. The stock has a market cap of $230.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.33, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. 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.

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.