Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,027 shares of the company’s stock after selling 783 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted 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 buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $97.78 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $242.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.80.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, 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 issued 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 yield of 3.5%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.