Sunflower Bank N.A. Cuts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sunflower Bank N.A. lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 623 shares during the quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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 cut their price target 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 cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.65. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $119.38. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.