Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Trimmed by Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC

Key Points

• Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 25.1%, now holding 32,751 shares valued at approximately $2.6 million.
• Merck reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, with a net margin of 25.79%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,958 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 worth $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $211.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 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. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

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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