Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,450 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 76.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 28,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 12,479 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 184,937.5% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 14,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,795 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 155.3% in the 1st quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 25,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,273,000 after purchasing an additional 15,404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.9%

MRK stock opened at $104.71 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $87.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.37. The stock has a market cap of $259.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. 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. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.