ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Cuts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. lessened its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 277,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $21,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DMKC Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 104.0% during the second quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 191,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,189,000 after purchasing an additional 97,798 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% during the second quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 106,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,547,000 after purchasing an additional 5,768 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 130.0% during the second quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 54,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,329,000 after purchasing an additional 30,910 shares during the period. Finally, RKL Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% during the second quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently 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 $90.13 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.60. 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.77. The company has a market capitalization of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37.

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 return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. As a group, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.