Renaissance Investment Group LLC Sells 250 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Renaissance Investment Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,397 shares of the company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during 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. during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $81.07 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day moving average is $82.68. The firm has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. 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. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $119.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

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.