Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Boston Common Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.2%, selling 30,618 shares, leaving them with 269,727 shares valued at approximately $21.35 million.
• Several analysts have downgraded their ratings and target prices for Merck, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price objective from $99.00 to $98.00.
• Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.6% based on the current stock price.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 269,727 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,618 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58. The company has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company 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. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 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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