Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Lessened by Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,623 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $398,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 44,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,466,000 after purchasing an additional 6,614 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 39,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after purchasing an additional 4,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $81.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $82.83 and its 200-day moving average is $82.57. The company has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $119.20.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.