HB Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

HB Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 805 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st 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 period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.46 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $82.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.69. 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 company has a market capitalization of $195.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

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.