Maple Capital Management Inc. Has $1.10 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Maple Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,252 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,341 shares during the period. Maple Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.11 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $119.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $212.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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.