12,000 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by TradeLink Capital LLC

TradeLink Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $950,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.8% of TradeLink Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd 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. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC increased 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 worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.63 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $259.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $88.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. The company’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. As a group, research 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 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.