Evermay Wealth Management LLC Has $1.30 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Evermay Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,270 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.91 and a 200-day moving average of $81.31. The company has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $109.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.