Secure Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Secure Asset Management LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.5%, selling 5,657 shares during the second quarter, and now holds 43,608 shares valued at approximately $3,452,000.
• Institutional investors own 76.07% of Merck's stock, with several firms increasing their holdings, including Baader Bank, which raised its stake by 72.6% during the same period.
• Merck reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share on October 7th, representing a yield of 4.0%.

Secure Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,657 shares during the period. Secure Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 72.6% during the 2nd quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 6,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 2,692 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 585,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,309,000 after buying an additional 26,413 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 4,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $81.11 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. The stock 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's 50 day moving average is $82.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.65. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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