Brown Shipley& Co Ltd Sells 2,446 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Brown Shipley& Co Ltd trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,099 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,446 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 1.8% of Brown Shipley& Co Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during 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 Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.79. The company has a market capitalization of $209.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.71.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business 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. Research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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.