Bingham Private Wealth LLC Sells 458 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bingham Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,227 shares of the company’s stock after selling 458 shares during the period. Bingham Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. 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 $221.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.48. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.31.

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.