Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lessened its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 75,042 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,652 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $86.02 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $81.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.