Tectonic Advisors LLC Buys 21,124 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.2%, acquiring an additional 21,124 shares, bringing its total holdings to 101,656 shares valued at approximately $8.05 million.
• Merck's stock was $86.39 at opening, with a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, and it recently reported $2.13 EPS, beating estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, representing an annual yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Tectonic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,656 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,124 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC grew 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 worth $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock worth $70,327,000 after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of 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 shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

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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