JGP Wealth Management LLC Has $928,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,722 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,646,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,826,000 after acquiring an additional 86,412 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% in the first quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 11,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.82 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $211.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.37. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $83.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid 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 dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $105.00.

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.