Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co

FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 459,797 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,068 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 2.3% of FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. FUKOKU MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $36,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake 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 worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s 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 owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.88.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $95.16 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $236.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $85.89 and its 200-day moving average is $82.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued 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 business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.80%.

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.