Quent Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Quent Capital LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,574 shares of the company’s stock after selling 236 shares during the quarter. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $600,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds 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 first quarter valued at $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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 research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.