Investment Management Corp of Ontario Buys 99,287 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

by · The Cerbat Gem

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 79.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,147 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99,287 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,743,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted 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 valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $486,000. Cooper Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 6,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% during the first quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 34,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,074,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Linscomb Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.2% in the first quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. now owns 101,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,132,000 after buying an additional 24,218 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.38.

Get Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

MRK stock opened at $98.96 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $245.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.29. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.83. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly 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. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 42.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $2,054,475.02. This represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

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