Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Has $474,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sterling Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.4% in the second quarter, leaving it with holdings valued at $474,000.
• Merck reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, but its revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of expectations of $15.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.6%.

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 46.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,986 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,184 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Little House Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $89.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $112.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average is $82.78 and its 200 day moving average is $81.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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