Talbot Financial LLC Buys 40,512 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Talbot Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 40.3%, acquiring an additional 40,512 shares, bringing its total holdings to 140,976 shares valued at approximately $11.16 million.
• Merck's earnings per share for the latest quarter exceeded analysts' expectations at $2.13, although the company's revenue did fall slightly short of estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 3.6% for shareholders of record by September 15th.

Talbot Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 40.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 140,976 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 40,512 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Clarius Group LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 22,511 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the last quarter. Accel Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the second quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 5,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Oak Hill Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $278,000. Sava Infond d.o.o. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.3% in the second quarter. Sava Infond d.o.o. now owns 40,570 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,212,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.3% in the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 81,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,222 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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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