Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in the second quarter, holding 41,748 shares worth approximately $3.3 million.
• Merck's stock recently experienced a decline, opening at $86.02, and its market capitalization stands at $214.87 billion.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for Merck, with Berenberg Bank lowering its recommendation from "buy" to "hold" and setting a new price target of $90.00.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,748 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,228 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

MRK stock opened at $86.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

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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