Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

Key Points

• V Square Quantitative Management LLC reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, resulting in ownership of 47,150 shares worth approximately $3.73 million.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 4.1% dividend yield, with dividends to be paid on October 7th.
• Merck's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing estimates, despite revenue of $15.81 billion falling short of expectations.

V Square Quantitative Management LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,150 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,914 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.5% of V Square Quantitative Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. V Square Quantitative Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,361 shares of the company's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 260,346 shares of the company's stock worth $20,609,000 after buying an additional 2,295 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 6,513 shares of the company's stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,715 shares in the last quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 15,626 shares of the company's stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First County Bank CT boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 19,714 shares of the company's stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $78.51 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.81. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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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