Kelman Lazarov Inc. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kelman Lazarov Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,767 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.8% during the second quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 5,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Schubert & Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the second quarter. Schubert & Co now owns 3,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $115,197,000. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.6% during the second quarter. Monument Group Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,857 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arnhold LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 362.7% during the second quarter. Arnhold LLC now owns 45,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,641,000 after acquiring an additional 36,056 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $84.78 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $109.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.35. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.33.

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.