Instrumental Wealth LLC Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Instrumental Wealth LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,206 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Instrumental Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2%

MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $114.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

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.