Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 42,991 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3%, selling 42,991 shares in the second quarter, now holding a total of 1,844,405 shares valued at approximately $146 million.
• Analysts have recently downgraded their price targets for Merck, with Berenberg Bank lowering it from $100 to $90, while maintaining an average rating of "Hold".
• Merck has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%, with a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,844,405 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,991 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $146,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first 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 during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.46 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.79. The business's 50-day moving average price is $82.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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