Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Northeast Investment Management

Key Points

• Northeast Investment Management reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by **13.2%**, selling 7,089 shares, and now owns 46,762 shares worth approximately **$3.7 million**.
• Merck's most recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations with an **EPS of $2.13**, despite revenue falling slightly short of estimates at **$15.81 billion**.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of **$0.81 per share**, reflecting a **3.8% yield**, with a dividend payout ratio near **49.92%**.

Northeast Investment Management lowered its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,089 shares during the period. Northeast Investment Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Quilter Plc increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock worth $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $109.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day moving average price is $83.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.33.

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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