Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 688,301 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,877 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.3% of Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $54,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.6% during the first quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Rogco LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Rogco LP now owns 8,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, tru Independence LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% in the first quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 50,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $85.90 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07. The company has a market capitalization of $214.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 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. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.