San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC has purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc., acquiring 8,983 shares valued at approximately $711,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Legend Financial Advisors and Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management, have recently increased their holdings in Merck, which is now owned 76.07% by institutional investors.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.1%, with the payment date set for October 7th.

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.79. The business's fifty day moving average price is $82.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. 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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