FSM Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 4,003 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• FSM Wealth Advisors LLC significantly increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc., acquiring an additional 4,003 shares to raise its position by 82.3%.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, while also providing FY 2025 guidance of 8.870-8.970 EPS.
• Institutional investors now own 76.07% of Merck's stock, reflecting growing confidence in the company's performance amid recent earnings reports.

FSM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 82.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,867 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,003 shares during the quarter. FSM Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $717,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.34 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $106.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $84.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

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.

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