Waycross Partners LLC Sells 23,000 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Waycross Partners LLC significantly reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.6%, selling 23,000 shares and holding just 4,500 shares valued at $356,000.
• Analysts have been adjusting their ratings for Merck, with Berenberg Bank downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold" and lowering its price target from $100 to $90.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding about 4.1%, which is set to be paid on October 7th.

Waycross Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,500 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,000 shares during the period. Waycross Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $398,000. LifeWealth Investments LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $259,000. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,087 shares of the company's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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 equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.6%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.23. The company has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $116.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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