Boston Trust Walden Corp Purchases 37,557 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the second quarter, purchasing an additional 37,557 shares, bringing its total ownership to 640,733 shares valued at approximately $50.7 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus rating of "Hold" for Merck & Co., Inc. with a price target of $105, reflecting a variety of recent adjustments from multiple financial institutions.
• Merck recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, but its revenue slightly fell short of projections at $15.81 billion for the quarter.

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 640,733 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,557 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $50,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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 began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.58 and a 200-day moving average of $81.40. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.

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