Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. Lowers Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,934 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Newman Dignan & Sheerar Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th 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 period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 89,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,057,000 after buying an additional 21,038 shares in the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 14,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% in the first quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $97,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.60. The firm has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 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, analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.