Kathmere Capital Management LLC Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kathmere Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,802 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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 dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $78.51 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $82.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.98. The company has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its 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 firm 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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 currently 49.92%.

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.