Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Trimmed by Lynch & Associates IN

Lynch & Associates IN cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 89,173 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,077 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.4% of Lynch & Associates IN’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Lynch & Associates IN’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.23. The company has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.26.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.