Lmcg Investments LLC Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Lmcg Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,826 shares of the company’s stock after selling 790 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in 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 during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $86.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $83.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.31.

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.