Shelton Capital Management Acquires 22,024 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Shelton Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 178,052 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,024 shares during the quarter. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Advantage Trust Co raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.1% during the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased 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 report on Tuesday, November 18th. Two equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $107.06.

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $104.63 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $259.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The company’s 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. Equities 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 44.91%.

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.