Trilogy Capital Inc. Has $3.53 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Trilogy Capital Inc. has significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 319% during the second quarter, owning 44,531 shares valued at approximately $3.53 million.
• Merck recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $15.81 billion, slightly below forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, which translates to a 3.9% dividend yield based on its annualized payments.

Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 319.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,531 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 33,904 shares during the period. Trilogy Capital Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 89,760 shares of the company's stock worth $8,057,000 after acquiring an additional 21,038 shares during the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 438.7% in the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,390 shares of the company's stock worth $2,369,000 after acquiring an additional 21,491 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 90.9% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 63,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,706,000 after purchasing an additional 30,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the first quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 150,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 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 $83.96 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50 day moving average price is $82.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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