Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA

Key Points

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Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 88.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,122 shares of the company's stock after selling 301,906 shares during the period. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of MRK traded up $1.1030 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $87.1830. 11,973,348 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,391,381. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $81.53 and its 200-day moving average is $83.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side 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 will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.