Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,490 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tilson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

MRK opened at $81.07 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.