Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 38,946 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,701 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently 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 Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $114.79. The company has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.