Ashford Capital Management Inc. Buys 3,722 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% in Q1, now holding 21,067 shares valued at approximately $1.89 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently acquired stakes in Merck, bringing institutional ownership to 76.07% of the company’s stock.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 3.9% yield based on a 49.92% dividend payout ratio.

Ashford Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 21.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,067 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,722 shares during the period. Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Pennington Partners & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $345,000. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 65,195 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 10,339 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $84.13. 10,870,371 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $82.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

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.