Pure Financial Advisors LLC Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 130.0%, now owning 54,684 shares valued at approximately $4.33 million.
• Merck's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with a current average rating of "Hold" and average target price of $106.41.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.6%, to be paid on October 7th.

Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 130.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,684 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 30,910 shares during the quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,004 shares of the company's stock worth $1,109,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 3,163,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $250,416,000 after purchasing an additional 556,891 shares during the period. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC now owns 11,910 shares of the company's stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 5,059 shares during the period. Heritage Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.8% in the 2nd quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 9,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,623 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 7.4%

MRK stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $114.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.68 and a 200 day moving average of $81.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. 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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