Capital Counsel LLC NY Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Capital Counsel LLC NY lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.2% of Capital Counsel LLC NY’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Capital Counsel LLC NY’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $104.63 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84. The firm 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 company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 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 Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.