Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Increased by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,912,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95,978 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.4% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP owned approximately 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $151,373,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $101.84 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $89.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, 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. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. 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 currently 44.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, November 24th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.