Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Sells 19,477 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,763 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,477 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Milestones Private Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $250,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter. NWF Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,850 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 8,777 shares during the period. V. M. Manning & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,172,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 716,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,062,000 after purchasing an additional 64,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Merck & Co., Inc.

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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.33 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $105.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 42.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.00.

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.