Courier Capital LLC Sells 8,424 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Courier Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7%, selling 8,424 shares and leaving them with 58,142 shares worth approximately $4.6 million.
• While various hedge funds have modified their holdings in Merck, 76.07% of the stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Merck's recent quarterly results showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations, and the company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, reflecting a 3.8% dividend yield.

Courier Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,142 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,424 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.40. The firm has a market cap of $213.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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