Montgomery Investment Management Inc. Has $3.51 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Montgomery Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.4% of Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Montgomery Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $258,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $114.60. The firm has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. 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 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

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.