Edgestream Partners L.P. Boosts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,207 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,049 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after buying an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. The firm has a market cap of $250.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.