PKS Advisory Services LLC Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PKS Advisory Services LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund 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 SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 3,151,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,492,000 after purchasing an additional 536,384 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 90,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after buying an additional 2,552 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.2% during the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 6,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.9% during the second quarter. TSP Capital Management Group LLC now owns 36,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,915,000 after buying an additional 6,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FineMark National Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 127,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,076,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $86.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.70. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given 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 yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.