Advisory Services Network LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,045 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently 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 holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after acquiring an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

MRK stock opened at $100.33 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $92.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.43. 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 $249.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. 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 earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.80%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.50.

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.