Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,298 shares during the quarter. Jaffetilchin Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.0% in the second quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 41,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 35,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,837,000 after buying an additional 1,761 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 75.0% in the 2nd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 155,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,329,000 after buying an additional 66,743 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 72,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,747,000 after acquiring an additional 10,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,377,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.8%

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $249.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49, 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. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.01. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’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, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.