Tcfg Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tcfg Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,979 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,570 shares during the quarter. Tcfg Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Clark & Stuart Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc now owns 108,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,688,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in the second quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,101,000 after buying an additional 5,453 shares during the period. Seamount Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $360,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 108,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,659,000 after acquiring an additional 20,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 3,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $221.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $82.96 and its 200 day moving average is $81.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.31.

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.