SlateStone Wealth LLC Purchases 2,284 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

SlateStone Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 118,035 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,284 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Little House Capital LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,327,000 after buying an additional 79,529 shares in the last quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 117.4% during the 2nd quarter. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 3,329 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 189,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,013,000 after buying an additional 6,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.50 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $86.77 and a 200-day moving average of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.07. The firm has a market cap of $249.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. 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. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.06.

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.