LM Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LM Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 42.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,547 shares during the quarter. LM Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% during the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $92.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.80%.

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.