Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Marks Group Wealth Management Inc

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,713 shares of the company’s stock after selling 606 shares during the quarter. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.8% during the second quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 176,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,002,000 after acquiring an additional 6,486 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 24,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.4% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 124,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,831,000 after purchasing an additional 34,438 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC now owns 6,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gemmer Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC now owns 5,011 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 395 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 MRK stock opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $221.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.31.

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.