SPC Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,577 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $258,267,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.31.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MRK
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $83.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.47. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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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