IMS Capital Management Takes $880,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

IMS Capital Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second 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 period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 valued at $466,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $116.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.