Arista Wealth Management LLC Makes New $861,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Arista Wealth Management LLC made a new investment of $861,000 in Merck & Co., Inc., purchasing 10,882 shares in the second quarter, as reported in their 13F filing.
• Merck has received mixed ratings from analysts, with recent downgrades from several financial institutions and an average price target of $104.33.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Arista Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Citigroup began 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. One investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $110.19. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $83.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.40. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.

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