Golden State Equity Partners Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Golden State Equity Partners decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.8%, now holding 26,968 shares worth approximately $2.135 million.
• Merck recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.10, despite a revenue of $15.81 billion that fell short of expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annual yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Golden State Equity Partners cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,135 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $81.41 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $82.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $118.16. The company has a market capitalization of $203.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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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