Sivia Capital Partners LLC Buys 3,941 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during Q2, bringing its total holdings to 11,494 shares valued at approximately $910,000.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations, while total revenue for the quarter was $15.81 billion.
• Merck's quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share represents a dividend yield of 4.0% and will be paid on October 7th.

Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 52.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,494 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.41. 25,594,757 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,066,499. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.57. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $118.16. 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 $203.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio 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.