Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 31.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 87,966 shares of the company’s stock after selling 41,188 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.5% in the second quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 2,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.7% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 299,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,677,000 after acquiring an additional 18,652 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 53.0% in the second quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 60,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,764,000 after acquiring an additional 20,838 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.8% in the second quarter. M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. now owns 7,143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $211.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.07, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.37. 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 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend 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.