Private Management Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Private Management Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 75.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,343 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,033 shares during the quarter. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $970,000 after purchasing an additional 3,716 shares during the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $236,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 55,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,405,000 after acquiring an additional 10,875 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 112.8% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 8,150 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 transaction 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 represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $97.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $242.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $86.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.