Blair William & Co. IL Sells 68,932 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Blair William & Co. IL decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 872,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,932 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $215.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 during 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, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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