Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Eagle Global Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Eagle Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.2%, selling 5,000 shares and leaving them with 151,806 shares valued at approximately $12.02 million.
• Analysts have cut their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering it from $97 to $90, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a target of $106.41.
• Merck & Co. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 4.1% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Eagle Global Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 151,806 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Eagle Global Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the second quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $78.51 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.98. The firm has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $114.79. 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 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. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Analysts predict 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 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.

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