Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC Increases Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,256 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,716 shares during the quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $970,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second 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 raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted 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 valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $86.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. 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 3.5%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Scotiabank started 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.