Arnhold LLC Buys 36,056 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Arnhold LLC significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 362.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 36,056 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately $3.64 million.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates, although revenue of $15.81 billion fell slightly short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.8%.

Arnhold LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 362.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,998 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 36,056 shares during the period. Arnhold LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $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. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.78 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $109.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup started 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 for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.

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