Trust Co. of Vermont Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Trust Co. of Vermont reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 108,847 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ninety One UK Ltd raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 91,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,249,000 after buying an additional 34,884 shares during the period. Lynx Investment Advisory grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lynx Investment Advisory now owns 3,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Rogco LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rogco LP now owns 9,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $725,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $968,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victrix Investment Advisors grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victrix Investment Advisors now owns 22,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,750,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $114.79. The company has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. 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 research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

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.