M Holdings Securities Inc. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

M Holdings Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 55.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,025 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,814 shares during the quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $250.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. The company’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. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Tuesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.38.

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.