Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9%, now owning 20,555 shares worth approximately $1.63 million.
• Several large investors have recently acquired stakes in Merck, contributing to institutional ownership of 76.07% of the company's stock.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.6% with a dividend payout ratio of 49.92%.

Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,555 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,490 shares during the period. Cliftonlarsonallen Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $82.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.77. The company has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $114.60.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

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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