Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC

Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $109.92. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.38. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.