Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Core Wealth Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Core Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.7%, selling 5,106 shares, leaving them with a total of 6,858 shares valued at $616,000.
• Merck recently reported an EPS of $2.13 for the quarter, surpassing estimates, and set its FY 2025 guidance at $8.870-8.970 EPS.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annual yield of 3.9% for investors of record on September 15th.

Core Wealth Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 42.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,858 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,106 shares during the quarter. Core Wealth Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

MRK traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $84.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 13,229,817 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,219,465. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $211.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average is $82.51 and its 200-day moving average is $83.01. 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 posted 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 during 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. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.