27,329 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by Montecito Bank & Trust

Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 27,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,294,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $509,000. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 36,293 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,258,000 after purchasing an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Colonial Trust Advisors lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 6,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $627,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Humankind Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 31,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $99.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $92.79 and a 200-day moving average of $85.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly 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 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 note on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.00.

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.