Little House Capital LLC Acquires 308 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Little House Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,236 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IAM Advisory LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 18,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,486,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the period. Davis Investment Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Investment Partners LLC now owns 10,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $820,000 after buying an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after buying an additional 309 shares during the period. Atlas Brown Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Atlas Brown Inc. now owns 16,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Finally, MRA Advisory Group increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 66.8% in the 2nd quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 3,929 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 1,573 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of MRK opened at $81.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.68. 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 $119.38. The company has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. Analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.