Financial Harvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,450 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $511,000.
Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in 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 bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
MRK stock traded down $1.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $80.44. 11,982,202 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,707,637. 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 company has a market capitalization of $200.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $118.16. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.24.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price 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, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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.
Recommended Stories
Before you consider Merck & Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck & Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.
While Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Enter your email address and we'll send you MarketBeat's list of ten stocks that are set to soar in Fall 2025, despite the threat of tariffs and other economic uncertainty. These ten stocks are incredibly resilient and are likely to thrive in any economic environment.
Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
