Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. Has $516,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 132.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,513 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,715 shares during the quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $516,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Scott & Selber Inc. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the second quarter. Scott & Selber Inc. now owns 15,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. First County Bank CT raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% during the second quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 19,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,529 shares during the period. GraniteShares Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% during the second quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 18,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,440,000 after acquiring an additional 791 shares during the period. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 154,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,245,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $78.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $82.53 and its 200-day moving average is $81.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 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 issued 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 firm 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. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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 investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.