REAP Financial Group LLC Has $114,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,445 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 591 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $83.06 and a 200-day moving average of $81.53. 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 cap of $218.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 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. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.