Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,093 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,004 shares during the quarter. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.53. 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 stock has a market cap of $218.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.