Camden National Bank Has $8.99 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Camden National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 113,512 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,797 shares during the quarter. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 3,716 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $236,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% in the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 55,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,405,000 after purchasing an additional 10,875 shares in the last quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% during the second quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd now owns 1,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 112.8% during the 2nd quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 8,150 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $97.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $86.38 and its 200 day moving average is $82.80. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.07. The stock has a market cap of $242.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase 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 3.5%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

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.