Heritage Financial Services LLC Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Heritage Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.8% during the second quarter, now owning 9,498 shares valued at $752,000.
• Several hedge funds have modified their positions in Merck, with over 76.07% of the stock owned by institutional investors.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annualized yield of 3.6%, set to be paid on October 7th.

Heritage Financial Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 94.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,498 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,623 shares during the quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 89,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,057,000 after purchasing an additional 21,038 shares during the last quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Triangle Securities Wealth Management now owns 14,338 shares of the company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.6% in the 1st quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 10,855 shares of the company's stock worth $889,000 after purchasing an additional 1,385 shares during the period. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 7.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.60. The company's 50-day moving average price is $82.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.77. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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