Precedent Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 3,259 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Precedent Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 21.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,139 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares during the quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a P/E 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 released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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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