Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC Has $740,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 212.2%, owning 9,342 shares valued at approximately $740,000 as of the end of the second quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.03, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 to be paid on October 7th.
• Institutional investors own over 76% of Merck's stock, with several large investors, such as Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC, purchasing new positions recently.

Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 212.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,342 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,350 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $82.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,931,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,124,038. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.38. 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 50-day moving average price of $82.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.75. The company has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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