NorthRock Partners LLC Buys 6,614 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,328 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,614 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,646,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,826,000 after buying an additional 86,412 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 46,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,167,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aries Wealth Management lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 28,427 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MRK opened at $86.02 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The firm has a market cap of $214.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.