Virtue Capital Management LLC Sells 1,745 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Virtue Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,265 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,745 shares during the quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on 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 began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $104.63 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. 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 cap of $259.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.