Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,749 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $398,000. Sentinus LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 3,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,916.3% in the fourth quarter. Scissortail Wealth Management LLC now owns 39,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,905,000 after purchasing an additional 38,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Suvretta Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,272,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.81. 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 data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.