Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires 9,108 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 221.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,221 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,108 shares during the period. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 754,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,757,000 after acquiring an additional 136,862 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 33,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 34,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,801,000 after acquiring an additional 6,058 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Point Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $375,000. Finally, NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 153,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,439,000 after acquiring an additional 6,279 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors 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 is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.