Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.3% in Q2, owning 36,582 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million by the end of the quarter.
• Recent analyst ratings have been mixed, with Berenberg Bank downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold" and adjusting its price target down to $90, while the average target price remains at $104.31.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported Q2 earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding estimates, and disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.81, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.6%.

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,582 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,111 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented 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 report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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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