Grandfield & Dodd LLC Has $15.28 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 15.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,968 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,972 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE MRK opened at $92.99 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.33. 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 company has a market cap of $230.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

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

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.