Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 36.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,728 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 67.0% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 83,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,469,000 after buying an additional 33,378 shares during the last quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.9% during the first quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 28,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,524,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 46.8% in the 1st quarter. Foundation Resource Management Inc. now owns 186,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,713,000 after acquiring an additional 59,369 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 200,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,794 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $82.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $221.88 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.