Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stake Lifted by REAP Financial Group LLC

REAP Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.53. The company has a market cap of $218.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.