North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. Invests $919,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

North Dallas Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 11,609 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the second quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $488,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Bare Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $105.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.37. The company has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $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. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders 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 a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.50.

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.