TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Trims Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 231,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,946 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $18,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 5,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. PFG Advisors grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 31,653 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,841,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. Efficient Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $764,000. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 90.8% during the 1st quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 5,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $95.16 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.61. The company has a market capitalization of $236.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a PEG 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 42.80%.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

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.