OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 252.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,457 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,772 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.3% during the second quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 16,081 shares of the company's stock worth $1,273,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.7% in the second quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 519,901 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,155,000 after purchasing an additional 8,486 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $4,042,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 7,267 shares of the company's stock worth $595,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. 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 fifty day moving average price of $82.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 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 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

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