IVC Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 193 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

IVC Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.7% of IVC Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Little House Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports 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 research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. The company has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.87 and its 200 day moving average is $81.61.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.