Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $278,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. for approximately $278,000, acquiring 3,419 shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, reflecting a 3.6% dividend yield, with an ex-dividend date on September 15th.

Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,419 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sava Infond d.o.o. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 40,570 shares of the company's stock worth $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 81,724 shares of the company's stock worth $6,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,222 shares during the last quarter. Pflug Koory LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 19,475 shares of the company's stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. 111 Capital raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 13,706 shares of the company's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 125,500 shares of the company's stock worth $9,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $82.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.61. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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. 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 during 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently 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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