Insight Inv LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Insight Inv LLC reduced its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%

NYSE:MRK opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.15 and a 200-day moving average of $81.56. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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