Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Cut by Apexium Financial LP

Apexium Financial LP lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,566 shares of the company’s stock after selling 921 shares during the period. Apexium Financial LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pflug Koory LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 19,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 13,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 125,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 531,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,085,000 after purchasing an additional 8,319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 18,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,436,000 after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. 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. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.