Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Farther Finance Advisors LLC

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 grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 108.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,667 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 43,507 shares during the quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Little House Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.07 on Monday, reaching $80.44. 11,982,202 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,045,434. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $118.16. The business's 50-day moving average is $82.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.34. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.