D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 15.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,817 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.0% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 83,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,469,000 after acquiring an additional 33,378 shares during the period. Werlinich Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% in the first quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,524,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.8% in the first quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 186,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,713,000 after acquiring an additional 59,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the first quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 200,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,794 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.31.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.
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