Calton & Associates Inc. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Calton & Associates Inc. has acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. worth approximately $400,000 by purchasing 4,454 shares in the first quarter.
• Merck reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while setting a FY 2025 guidance of 8.870-8.970 EPS.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 on October 7th, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.9%.

Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $400,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.96. The company had a trading volume of 12,553,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,232,875. The company has a market capitalization of $209.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.01. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.