LM Advisors LLC Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LM Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,547 shares during the period. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hara Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 70.6% in the second quarter. Hara Capital LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 113.7% in the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 13,689 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 7,284 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 11,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 202,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,015,000 after acquiring an additional 52,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi Capital LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.2% during the second quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 392,788 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,338,000 after acquiring an additional 65,987 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $92.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.