Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the second quarter, bringing the total to 33,116 shares valued at $2.621 million.
• Analysts have recently lowered their price targets for Merck, with Berenberg Bank and Wells Fargo both reducing their price objectives to $90.
• Merck will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 on October 7th, representing a 4.0% yield and a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,116 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,132 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,621,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 4,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $450,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the period. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $103,000. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,183,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

MRK opened at $81.41 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average is $82.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $203.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $118.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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