Gemmer Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Gemmer Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,011 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the quarter. Gemmer Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. 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 on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.