Vest Financial LLC Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 53.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,180 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,838 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.58 and a 200-day moving average of $81.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued 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 payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.