Baxter Bros Inc. Sells 1,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.39 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.31.

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.