Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,247,166 shares of the company’s stock after selling 191,756 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $98,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Bare Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.9% in the second quarter. Bare Financial Services Inc now owns 366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.44.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $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 through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $102.37 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

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.