FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8%, selling 3,086 shares to hold a total of 42,141 shares valued at $3,783,000.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst estimates, while the company projected a future EPS guidance of 8.870-8.970.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.9%, with a record date of September 15th and an ex-dividend date on the same day.

FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,086 shares during the quarter. FRG Family Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $398,000. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $345,000. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 65,195 shares of the company's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.2% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 10,339 shares of the company's stock worth $1,028,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.14 and a 200-day moving average of $83.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors 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 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

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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