Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Has $446,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,608 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first 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 position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.02 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of 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 lowered shares of 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 report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.