Strategic Financial Services Inc. Sells 2,825 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Strategic Financial Services Inc. decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.0% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,621 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,825 shares during the quarter. Strategic Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,851,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.06 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $119.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.95. The company has a market capitalization of $209.96 billion, a PE ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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.