Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Webster Bank N. A.

Webster Bank N. A. reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,975 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,996 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $398,000. Sentinus LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Sentinus LLC now owns 3,529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Tema Etfs LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,128,000. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $498,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MRK. 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 decreased 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 cut their price target on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. 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. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $119.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $82.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.75.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 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.