Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing

ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,202 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.4% of ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. ESG Planning DBA Harper Investing’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd 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. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after buying an additional 5,135,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Seven equities 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $99.81 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.63. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84. 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 company has a market capitalization of $247.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.57 EPS. The company’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 analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other 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 value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.