FLC Capital Advisors Purchases 4,923 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

FLC Capital Advisors boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 84,529 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,923 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.4% of FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. FLC Capital Advisors’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $888,000. Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 45,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,068,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.0%

MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average is $81.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $109.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.