Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Decreases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7%, now holding 37,793 shares valued at approximately $2.99 million.
• Merck's most recent earnings report indicated an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations, but revenue fell slightly short at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 4.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,793 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,878 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GraniteShares Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 18,196 shares of the company's stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares in the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock worth $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 154,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 33.6% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 76,770 shares of the company's stock worth $6,123,000 after purchasing an additional 19,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $711,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.81. The company has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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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