TD Private Client Wealth LLC Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• TD Private Client Wealth LLC has reduced its stock holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.2%, now owning 63,164 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• Brokerages such as Berenberg Bank and Wells Fargo have downgraded their ratings on Merck & Co., Inc., with new price targets set between $90 and $98.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, providing an annualized dividend yield of 4.1% for shareholders on record by September 15th.

TD Private Client Wealth LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 63,164 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,010 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,000,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.62 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $116.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $82.63 and its 200 day moving average is $82.21. The company has a market cap of $198.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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