Retirement Guys Formula LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Retirement Guys Formula LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.0%, now holding 22,851 shares valued at approximately $1.81 million following a purchase of 3,323 additional shares during the 2nd quarter.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations, reporting $2.13 earnings per share and revenues of $15.81 billion, slightly below projected revenues.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 4.1%, with a current payout ratio of 49.92%.

Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,851 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,323 shares during the quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.62 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.02. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.21. The company has a market capitalization of $198.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. 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. (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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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