First Bancorp Inc ME Acquires 279 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

First Bancorp Inc ME increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,109 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. 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 $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.35. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $109.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

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.