Triangle Securities Wealth Management Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Triangle Securities Wealth Management has decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.6%, selling 3,522 shares during the second quarter, leaving them with 10,816 shares worth approximately $856,000.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which will be paid on October 7th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.0%.
• Merck's earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, beating estimates, while the company set its FY 2025 guidance at $8.870-8.970 EPS.

Triangle Securities Wealth Management cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 24.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,816 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,522 shares during the period. Triangle Securities Wealth Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Tilson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MRK opened at $81.60 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $82.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $119.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $203.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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. 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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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