State of Alaska Department of Revenue Lowers Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• The State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.3%, holding 327,444 shares worth approximately $25.92 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Merck reported a Q2 EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, but its revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of the $15.92 billion forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which translates to a 4.1% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,444 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,645 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $25,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 265.3% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 8,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 6,221 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 99.1% in the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 14,165 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 7,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nexus Investment Management ULC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. Nexus Investment Management ULC now owns 3,735 shares of the company's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 1,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $82.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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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