Associated Banc Corp Has $8.35 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Associated Banc Corp cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,361 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Advantage Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the second quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade 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 available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.8%

MRK opened at $100.50 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

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.