Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Sells 986 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 129,165 shares of the company’s stock after selling 986 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,176.8% in the 2nd quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. now owns 27,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,163,000 after buying an additional 26,121 shares in the last quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Balefire LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $242,000. Berkshire Bank increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 34,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,736,000 after buying an additional 2,708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,268,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.66. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.38. The firm has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.