Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Raised by SWS Partners

SWS Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,169 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the quarter. SWS Partners’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $84.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.95. The stock has a market cap of $209.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $119.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.