B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Acquires 4,072 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• B & T Capital Management has increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.5%, acquiring an additional 4,072 shares, bringing their total holdings to 46,838 shares worth approximately $3.7 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Legend Financial Advisors and Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management, have also recently invested in Merck, indicating strong institutional interest with 76.07% of the company's stock held by institutions.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Merck, with an average price target of $104.33 and one analyst rating it as a Strong Buy, while others assigned ratings ranging from Hold to Sell.

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,838 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,072 shares during the quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.54 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $84.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $106.49. The company has a market cap of $218.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, 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.

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