Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by UMB Bank n.a.

UMB Bank n.a. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 128,576 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,698 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.2% in the second quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 50,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.0% during the second quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc. now owns 14,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 7,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.4% during the second quarter. Bridge Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 21,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 705 shares during the period. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 14,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.41 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $118.16. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.50.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

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.