Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.9%, holding 87,966 shares valued at approximately $6.96 million after selling off 41,188 shares in the second quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported a Q2 EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations of $2.03, despite revenue falling short at $15.81 billion, below the $15.92 billion estimate.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, translating to an annualized dividend of $3.24 with a yield of 3.8%, maintaining a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 31.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,966 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,188 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after buying an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.42. 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 $211.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.37.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

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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