Traub Capital Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 5,390 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $427,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 29,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,000 after purchasing an additional 1,983 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 304,601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,341,000 after buying an additional 62,041 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 5,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Advisors grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 31,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,841,000 after buying an additional 5,071 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.88.

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 value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK stock opened at $96.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.07. The stock has a market cap of $239.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 42.80%.

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.