Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Heritage Wealth Advisors

Heritage Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 589,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,906 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 2.2% of Heritage Wealth Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Heritage Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $46,657,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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 report on Monday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.88.

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 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 $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The company has a market cap of $239.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $85.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’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. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase 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 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 42.80%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.