Stonebrook Private Inc. Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Stonebrook Private Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 88.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,983 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,083 shares during the period. Stonebrook Private Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 price objective on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.88.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of MRK opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.52.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 business 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.