Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by 1834 Investment Advisors Co.

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.1% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 7,088 shares, bringing its total holdings to 77,194 shares worth approximately $6.11 million.
• Merck recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03, while the company's revenue was $15.81 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.1%, with the payment date set for October 7th.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,194 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,088 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Little House Capital LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $114.79. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 decreased 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 assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

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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