Centric Wealth Management Has $2.52 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Centric Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 17.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,077 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,075 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 3,722 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 6,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 4,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 13,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,196,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 175.9% during the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 818,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,507,000 after buying an additional 522,126 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $84.13 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $83.00. The stock has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (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. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.