Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 287,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,207 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $22,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% in the second quarter. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Arnhold LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 362.7% during the second quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 45,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,641,000 after purchasing an additional 36,056 shares in the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 325,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,769,000 after buying an additional 95,162 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 16,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,329,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. 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. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $109.92. The company has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.35.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. 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 presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.