Community Trust & Investment Co. Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Community Trust & Investment Co. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 41,010 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,246,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. 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 downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $81.11 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.88 and a 200-day moving average of $82.65. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The stock has a market cap of $202.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.