Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 3,732 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,237 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,732 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 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. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business 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. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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 lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

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.