J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, owning 781,316 shares valued at approximately $61.8 million.
• Several analysts have lowered their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo reducing its target from $97 to $90 and Berenberg Bank downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold."
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.6%.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 781,316 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,786 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.1% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $61,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 7.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.60. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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