Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Level Four Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,010 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,758 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in 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 boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co raised its holdings 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 valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $104.63 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $259.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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.