Curi Capital LLC Buys 65,987 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Curi Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 392,788 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 65,987 shares during the period. Curi Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $31,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $100.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.84. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $92.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.31. The firm has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’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. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current 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 represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.80%.

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

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. 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 directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

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.