Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 73,132 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 302,560 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,132 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,951,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised 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 during the period. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Advantage Trust Co boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $105.71 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $262.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.84. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.22.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank started 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 target price on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

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.