WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Invests $1.10 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 13,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,100,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Financial Services CORP. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Cora Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $83.72 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $110.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a PEG ratio of 0.92 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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.