WBI Investments LLC Buys Shares of 3,395 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC has acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc., purchasing 3,395 shares valued at approximately $305,000.
• Merck reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, despite revenues falling slightly below estimates.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 3.8%.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 3,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Saiph Capital LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Tilson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the first quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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 cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $81.07. 10,227,257 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,075,092. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $119.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.