Independence Bank of Kentucky Decreases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Independence Bank of Kentucky trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,946 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 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. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.