Marino Stram & Associates LLC Sells 4,914 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Marino Stram & Associates LLC has sold 4,914 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., reducing its holdings by 15.1% to a total of 27,619 shares, valued at approximately $2.19 million.
• Recent reports from analysts have resulted in a lowered price target for Merck shares, with estimates ranging from $90 to $98, while the stock maintains an average rating of "Hold."
• Merck's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with an EPS of $2.13, setting a FY 2025 guidance of 8.870-8.970 EPS, and the company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81.

Marino Stram & Associates LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,914 shares during the quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during 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 stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. 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 $114.79. The business's 50-day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.71.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 3.9%. 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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