ICONIQ Capital LLC Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

ICONIQ Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 113.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,689 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,284 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50 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. The company has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side 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. Shareholders 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 an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.