Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Has $2.59 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Stonebridge Financial Group LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.4%, now holding 32,711 shares valued at approximately $2.59 million.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and set FY 2025 guidance at $8.870-8.970 EPS.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.81 reflects a 3.7% yield, with an annualized payout of $3.24 and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,711 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,293 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,589,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

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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