Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased their stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the second quarter, bringing their total to 29,559 shares valued at approximately $2.48 million.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target for Merck's stock at $104.33, with ratings ranging from strong buy to sell from various brokerages.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, equating to an annual yield of 3.8%, with a relatively low payout ratio of just under 50%.

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,559 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $109.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $83.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.31.

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. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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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