Sapient Capital LLC Has $942,000 Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 96.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,782 shares of the company's stock after selling 318,010 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $81.11 on Thursday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.65. The company has a market cap of $202.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $119.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.