TradeLink Capital LLC Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

TradeLink Capital LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.8% of TradeLink Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 13,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the period. IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 19,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,617.5% in the 1st quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,302,000 after purchasing an additional 55,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $104.63 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day moving average is $88.66 and its 200 day moving average is $83.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84.

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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The business’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. 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 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.91%.

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 that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.