Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Jacobs & Co. CA

Key Points

• Jacobs & Co. CA reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8%, now owning 111,007 shares worth approximately $8.79 million.
• Merck reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, while the company set its FY 2025 EPS guidance at 8.870-8.970.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.9%, which will be paid on October 7th.

Jacobs & Co. CA cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 111,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,223 shares during the quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $119.38. 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 $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.85.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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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