Trust Co of the South Sells 14,016 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Trust Co of the South lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 54.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,016 shares during the period. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 9,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nicolet Bankshares Inc. now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley upped 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 research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. 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 released 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. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 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 a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. The trade was a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.