Randolph Co Inc Sells 201,104 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Randolph Co Inc significantly reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 98.0%, selling 201,104 shares in the second quarter, leaving it with only 4,123 shares valued at $326,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes in Merck, with Charles Schwab Investment Management boosting its position by 144.6%, acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares.
• Merck's stock has been under pressure as analysts have lowered their price targets, with Berenberg Bank downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold" and reducing its price target from $100.00 to $90.00.

Randolph Co Inc trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 98.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,123 shares of the company's stock after selling 201,104 shares during the quarter. Randolph Co Inc's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $77.70 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $194.07 billion, a PE ratio of 11.97, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.09. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 4.2%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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