Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 8,998 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Financial Advocates Investment Management lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,998 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Advantage Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MRK opened at $104.71 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $259.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.84.

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. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.06.

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.