IMS Capital Management Buys New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• IMS Capital Management has purchased 11,111 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. valued at approximately $880,000 during the second quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.1%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 49.92%.
• Wall Street analysts have set a consensus target price of $106.41 for Merck, with the stock currently rated as "Hold" by most analysts.

IMS Capital Management bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 11,111 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $880,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Little House Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in 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 period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first 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 boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. 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. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.26. The company has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.23.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 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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