Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Cut by Insight Inv LLC

Insight Inv LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,133 shares during the quarter. Insight Inv LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Armstrong Fleming & Moore Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $628,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 101,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,047,000 after buying an additional 21,124 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fulton Breakefield Broenniman LLC now owns 7,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $629,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Allegiance Financial Group Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $473,000. Finally, Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Beaumont Asset Management L.L.C. now owns 8,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $658,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.15 and a 200-day moving average of $81.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. The company 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. Equities analysts forecast 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.