Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 114,654 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 79.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 114,654 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Caxton Associates LLP grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.3% in the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 39,421 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,458 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $346,000. Second Line Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 6,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Rexford Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $609,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,543,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,649,000 after buying an additional 293,911 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $100.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $92.33 and a 200-day moving average of $85.60. The stock has a market cap of $249.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $105.84. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised 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 research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Scotiabank boosted 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 report on Thursday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.