Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Chatham Capital Group Inc.

Key Points

• Chatham Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.7% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 13,730 shares, bringing its total holdings to 46,617 shares worth approximately $3.69 million.
• Wells Fargo & Company and Morgan Stanley both lowered their target prices for Merck stock, setting new targets of $90.00 and $98.00, respectively, while the consensus rating for the stock is currently a "Hold".
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized amount of $3.24 and a dividend yield of 4.1%.

Chatham Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,617 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,730 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,690,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.79. The stock has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.90.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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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