Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $23.68 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC has increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7%, holding 299,098 shares worth approximately $23.68 million.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Merck, with Berenberg Bank reducing its target from $100 to $90 and other firms also lowering their price objectives, resulting in a current consensus price target of $104.31.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 299,098 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,652 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $86.02 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $81.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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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