Atticus Wealth Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Atticus Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,140 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,097 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tilson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.0%

MRK opened at $81.11 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $82.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.65. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.