Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9%, owning a total of 53,834 shares valued at approximately $4.83 million.
• Merck recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, surpassing expectations, though revenue of $15.81 billion missed estimates of $15.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with a yield of 3.8%, scheduled for payment on October 7th.

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,834 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,014 shares during the period. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.7610 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $84.9810. The stock had a trading volume of 14,292,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,792,842. The stock's 50 day moving average is $81.28 and its 200 day moving average is $83.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 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 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. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 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.