Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9%, holding 1,034,543 shares valued at approximately $92.86 million after selling 30,425 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab, have increased their holdings in Merck, indicating strong interest, as institutional investors now own 76.07% of the company's stock.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with an expected annual yield of 3.7%, and reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the most recent quarter, beating estimates.

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,034,543 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,425 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $92,861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the first quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 54,728 shares of the company's stock worth $4,912,000 after acquiring an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 472.5% during the first quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the company's stock worth $1,662,000 after acquiring an additional 15,286 shares during the period. Quantitative Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.0% during the first quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 157,394 shares of the company's stock worth $14,127,000 after acquiring an additional 15,579 shares during the period. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.7% during the first quarter. Southeast Asset Advisors LLC now owns 8,408 shares of the company's stock worth $755,000 after acquiring an additional 745 shares during the period. Finally, AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC now owns 26,898 shares of the company's stock worth $2,414,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $84.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,585,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,375,943. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $81.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.03. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.