Quilter Plc Lowers Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Quilter Plc decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,179,483 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,314 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Quilter Plc’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $93,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 90,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,552 shares during the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% in the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 6,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. TSP Capital Management Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% in the second quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 36,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after purchasing an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the second quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 127,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,076,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the period. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% during the second quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 589,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,657,000 after buying an additional 23,906 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target 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. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $95.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’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 research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.80%.

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.