Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by BDF Gestion

Key Points

• BDF Gestion has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.3%, now owning 57,042 shares valued at approximately $4.52 million.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations, although revenue fell short at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%.

BDF Gestion lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,042 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,436 shares during the period. BDF Gestion's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $79.92. The stock had a trading volume of 6,556,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,001,043. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $116.26. The company has a market capitalization of $199.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.