Donald L. Hagan LLC Trims Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Donald L. Hagan LLC reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,371 shares of the company’s stock after selling 137 shares during the quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.