Patten & Patten Inc. TN Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Patten & Patten Inc. TN has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9%, now owning 110,616 shares worth approximately $8.76 million after selling 9,434 shares during the second quarter.
• A number of hedge funds have made adjustments to their positions in Merck, with institutional investors collectively holding 76.07% of the company's stock.
• Merck & Co., Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 3.9% dividend yield based on an annualized payout of $3.24.

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,616 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,434 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Peoples Financial Services CORP. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $83.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.44.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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