Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Has $9.83 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.9%, raising its total holdings to 117,453 shares worth approximately $9.83 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, beating estimates, although revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 117,453 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,501 shares during the quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Little House Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $79.89 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 cap of $199.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $116.26. The company's 50-day moving average price is $82.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.23.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. 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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