Addenda Capital Inc. Has $6.12 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Addenda Capital Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,770 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,291 shares during the period. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $711,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the second quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 540,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,769,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.8% in the second quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 168,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,367,000 after purchasing an additional 17,799 shares in the last quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.8% in the second quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC now owns 36,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,867,000 after purchasing an additional 6,472 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barry Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 49.9% in the second quarter. Barry Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after purchasing an additional 6,249 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.53 and a 200-day moving average of $81.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. 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 released 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 analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 currently 49.92%.

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.