Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. Buys 171 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,708 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the quarter. Luts & Greenleigh Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kapstone Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $752,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $258,267,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 504,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,933,000 after purchasing an additional 19,380 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Stolper Co lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Stolper Co now owns 28,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,254,000 after buying an additional 2,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $81.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $203.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.79 and a 200-day moving average of $82.50. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $118.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

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.