Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,748 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.94 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. The business has a 50 day moving average of $83.67 and a 200-day moving average of $81.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.