SGL Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

SGL Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,611 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. SGL Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 1st 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 grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st 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 acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth about $991,553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

MRK stock opened at $87.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The stock has a market cap of $218.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $83.06 and its 200 day moving average is $81.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on 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. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.31.

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.