Vident Advisory LLC Sells 22,859 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8%, selling 22,859 shares, resulting in ownership of 131,978 shares valued at approximately $11.8 million.
• Merck's stock is currently trading at $84.13, with a market cap of $210.14 billion and a reported EPS of $2.13, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which will be paid on October 7th, representing an annualized yield of 3.9%.

Vident Advisory LLC decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 131,978 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,859 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. 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. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $84.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $82.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.98. The company has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.