Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Lowered by Procyon Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 50.6%, now holding shares worth $1.78 million after selling 23,115 shares during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors now own 76.07% of Merck's stock, with significant increases in holdings reported by several hedge funds in the first quarter.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a 4.0% yield with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Procyon Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,536 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,115 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Little House Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.41. 25,594,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,066,499. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $118.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $82.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.57. 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 market cap of $203.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average 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.