Beck Mack & Oliver LLC Has $9.60 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Beck Mack & Oliver LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2%, now holding 106,892 shares valued at approximately $9.60 million.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.13 EPS, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03, with revenues of $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, yielding 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%, payable on October 7th to shareholders of record as of September 15th.

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,892 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,863 shares during the period. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,595,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.13 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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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