McLean Asset Management Corp Purchases 125 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,543 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 591,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,799,000 after acquiring an additional 89,745 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after acquiring an additional 71,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $82.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.93 and a 200-day moving average of $82.85. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The company has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.