Unified Investment Management Acquires 674 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Unified Investment Management boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,165 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the quarter. Unified Investment Management’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $120,000. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% during the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after buying an additional 71,393 shares during the period. Finally, Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $534,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:MRK opened at $80.44 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $118.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.