Harrell Investment Partners LLC Sells 55,727 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Harrell Investment Partners LLC sold 55,727 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., reducing its stake by 93.7%, leaving them with 3,760 shares valued at approximately $298,000.
• Merck reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.10, although revenue fell slightly short of forecasts at $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 15, translating to an annual yield of 4.1%.

Harrell Investment Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 93.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,760 shares of the company's stock after selling 55,727 shares during the quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $79.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $198.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 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 declared 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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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