Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH

Key Points

• FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 51.1% during the second quarter, owning 14,202 shares worth approximately $1,124,000.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, which represents a 4.1% annual yield based on its payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on Merck, with an average price target of $106.41, including one Strong Buy, six Buy, and thirteen Hold ratings for the stock.

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,202 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,804 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.51 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $114.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.81. The company has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.81 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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