Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC Buys New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 46,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 62,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,649,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% in the first quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 31,904 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,864,000 after acquiring an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 862,359 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,948,000 after acquiring an additional 72,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $84.6730 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS 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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.