Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Salem Investment Counselors Inc. has decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.8%, now holding 192,700 shares valued at $15.4 million after selling 63,710 shares.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab, have increased their holdings in Merck during the first quarter, reflecting a total of 76.07% institutional ownership of the stock.
• Merck's stock has recently traded down by 2.7%, with analysts giving it a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 24.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,710 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $2.28 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $82.87. 9,931,826 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,124,038. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.