Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Sells 26,901 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

by · The Cerbat Gem

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 54.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,901 shares during the period. Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $85.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The company’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 analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

View Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

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

In other 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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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