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

Key Points

• Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.6% during the second quarter, now owning 23,635 shares worth approximately $1.87 million after selling 20,644 shares.
• Several hedge funds reported increasing their stakes in Merck, with Simplicity Wealth LLC boosting its holdings by an impressive 991.7% in the first quarter.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 3.7%, supported by a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,635 shares of the company's stock after selling 20,644 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Little House Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $218.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58.

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 (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations 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. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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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