Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 43,507 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Farther Finance Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 108.3% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 43,507 shares and bringing its total holdings to 83,667 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03, but fell short on revenue expectations with $15.81 billion compared to the anticipated $15.92 billion.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share will be paid on October 7th, representing an annualized yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 108.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,667 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 43,507 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.41. 25,594,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,707,637. The firm 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. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.34. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $118.16.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.