Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys 5,704 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the second quarter, now holding shares worth approximately $6.17 million.
• Analysts have downgraded Merck's stock rating, with Berenberg Bank lowering its price target from $100 to $90, while Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley made similar adjustments.
• Merck & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing a 4.0% dividend yield, with the payment set for October 7th.

Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,879 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,704 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $80.09. 6,468,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,999,834. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a PEG ratio of 0.84 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 one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $116.26. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $82.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.