Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC Invests $4.17 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Shorepoint Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 49,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,171,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in 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 during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.34 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. 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 posted its 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last 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 expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 42.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, December 8th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.00.

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.