Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $291.51 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,683,381 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,688 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $291,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth $942,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.5% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 120,043 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,503,000 after buying an additional 26,643 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the second quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $950,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% in the 2nd quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 118,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 5.3%

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

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Two research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.