Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Sells 5,184 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 46.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,184 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during 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 last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.73. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $112.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.