Seamount Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,550 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Seamount Financial Group Inc. acquired 4,550 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), valued at approximately $360,000, during the second quarter.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.6%.
• As of recent analyst reports, Merck's consensus rating is "Hold" with a target price of $104.31, while several analysts have downgraded their ratings and price targets.

Seamount Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $360,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised 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 last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $82.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.48.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 given 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 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

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.

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