United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $10.13 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,889 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,712 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.6730 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $211.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $81.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 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.