Mengis Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Mengis Capital Management Inc. reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.1%, selling 11,576 shares to hold 56,293 shares, which account for about 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05% for the most recent quarter, beating EPS estimates at $2.13.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, yielding approximately 3.7% annually with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Mengis Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,293 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,576 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Mengis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,456,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $87.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $218.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $83.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS 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 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. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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