Fiduciary Alliance LLC Sells 48,271 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Fiduciary Alliance LLC significantly reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 73.4%, selling 48,271 shares and leaving them with 17,537 shares valued at $1,388,000.
• Merck's quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.13 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.03, while the revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of forecasts.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a 4.0% yield, is set to be paid on October 7th, with an ex-dividend date of September 15th.

Fiduciary Alliance LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 73.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,537 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,271 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,388,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $398,000. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 12,571 shares of the company's stock worth $1,251,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 593,787 shares of the company's stock worth $59,070,000 after purchasing an additional 126,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 143,718 shares of the company's stock worth $14,297,000 after purchasing an additional 45,926 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

MRK stock opened at $81.07 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $119.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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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