Financial Management Professionals Inc. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 9,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $79.62 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.21. 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 company has a market cap of $198.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business 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. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered 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, September 17th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

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.