Ibex Wealth Advisors Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ibex Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 91,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,260,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $86.34 on Monday. 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 $214.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.08.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

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.