Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 2,679 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Atlas Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 191,705 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,175,000 after purchasing an additional 8,643 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the second quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 51,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,105,000 after acquiring an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.1% in the second quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 30,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,434,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 37,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,999,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.34 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. 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 cap of $215.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s 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. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.47.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.