Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,192 shares of the company’s stock after selling 388 shares during the quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $398,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 591,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,799,000 after acquiring an additional 89,745 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 71,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities 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 an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of MRK opened at $82.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.85. The stock has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.