Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. Has $399,000 Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,037 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Planned Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 68.6% during the 2nd quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. now owns 5,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 94,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,466,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. MB Levis & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. MB Levis & Associates LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. Kelman Lazarov Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $109.92. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $83.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business 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, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.