Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Demars Financial Group LLC

Demars Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 98.9% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,394 shares of the company’s stock after selling 561,131 shares during the quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $83.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.31. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.