Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 1,636 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,626 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,636 shares during the quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 119,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,489,000 after buying an additional 15,679 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.8% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 6,016 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.9% in the second quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 544,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,093,000 after acquiring an additional 101,356 shares during the last quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.1% in the second quarter. Compass Capital Management Inc. now owns 754,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,754,000 after acquiring an additional 156,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 611,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,425,000 after purchasing an additional 37,005 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

MRK stock opened at $86.34 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $84.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.08. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.07. The firm has a market cap of $214.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% 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.