Valmark Advisers Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Valmark Advisers Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,670 shares of the company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $990,000. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 8,140 shares of the company’s stock valued at $644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abel Hall LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 10,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 2,451 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $215.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.