Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Holdings Raised by LMG Wealth Partners LLC

LMG Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,463 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,680 shares during the quarter. LMG Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.