Everstar Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Everstar Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 91.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,070 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,808 shares during the period. Everstar Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% during the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 13,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,244,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the first quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 19,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $341,000. Finally, Liberty Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,617.5% in the first quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 59,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,302,000 after acquiring an additional 55,626 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.63 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $259.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG 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. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 firm 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 firm’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. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.06.

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.