Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by NTV Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• NTV Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.1%, now owning 23,467 shares valued at approximately $1.86 million.
• Merck reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.10, while setting FY 2025 guidance between $8.870-$8.970 EPS.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with an annualized yield of 3.6%, reflecting a payout ratio of 49.92%.

NTV Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 23,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,184 shares during the quarter. NTV Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,858,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after buying an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 decreased their target price on 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. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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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