MRA Advisory Group Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MRA Advisory Group boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 66.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,929 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,573 shares during the quarter. MRA Advisory Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.7%

MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $119.38. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.