Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9%, selling 873,284 shares and holding approximately 0.41% of the company's stock valued at $918.8 million.
• Merck's stock received mixed ratings from analysts, with a consensus Hold rating and a price target of $107.44, while recent price objectives have been lowered by firms like Wells Fargo and Citigroup.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.8%, and set FY 2025 EPS guidance between 8.870 and 8.970.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,236,395 shares of the company's stock after selling 873,284 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.41% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $918,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $85.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. 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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