TruWealth Advisors LLC Sells 5,950 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• TruWealth Advisors LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 60.5% in the second quarter, resulting in ownership of 3,883 shares valued at approximately $307,000.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.03, while the company's revenue was slightly below estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a yield of 3.9%, which will be paid on October 7th to shareholders on record as of September 15th.

TruWealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,883 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,950 shares during the period. TruWealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.74 on Wednesday, hitting $81.83. The stock had a trading volume of 3,388,269 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,978,938. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $204.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $119.38. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $82.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.