Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, selling 49,038 shares, leaving it with 150,175 shares valued at approximately $13.48 million.
• Merck recently declared a $0.81 quarterly dividend, which represents an annualized rate of $3.24 and a yield of 3.8%, to be paid on October 7th.
• The company reported an EPS of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and has set a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 8.870-8.970.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,175 shares of the company's stock after selling 49,038 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $85.34 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $213.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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