Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys 23,780 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 390,881 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 23,780 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $34,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the 2nd 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 grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evolution Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised 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, December 12th. Seven research 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 MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.0%

MRK opened at $98.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. 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 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.91%.

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 dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.