Triton Wealth Management PLLC Buys Shares of 2,602 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Triton Wealth Management PLLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,477,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 23,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,880,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 1,332,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,419,000 after acquiring an additional 91,199 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the second quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% during the second quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $83.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.42. The company has a market cap of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.37. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.