PKS Advisory Services LLC Sells 2,387 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PKS Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,387 shares during the period. PKS Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $95.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $235.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64, 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.70.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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 given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 42.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.88.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.