Railway Pension Investments Ltd Has $90.74 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Railway Pension Investments Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 26.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,146,315 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 241,100 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.3% of Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Railway Pension Investments Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $90,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in 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. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

Insider Activity

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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $104.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $259.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.66 and its 200 day moving average is $83.74. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.