Vest Financial LLC Buys 20,838 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC has increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.0%, acquiring an additional 20,838 shares to hold a total of 60,180 shares, valued at approximately $4.76 million.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and acknowledged a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annual yield of 3.8%.
• Recent analyst ratings saw Berenberg Bank downgrade Merck from "buy" to "hold," with multiple firms adjusting their price targets for the stock, now averaging around $105.00.

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,180 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,838 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $213.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $83.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.40. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.