Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Cassia Capital Partners LLC

Cassia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,062 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. Cassia Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Signet Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 54.0% during the second quarter. Signet Financial Management LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,323 shares during the last quarter. Verum Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.3% during the second quarter. Verum Partners LLC now owns 3,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,832,000 after buying an additional 12,501 shares during the last quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evanson Asset Management LLC now owns 3,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kentucky Trust Co now owns 9,964 shares of the company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

MRK stock opened at $79.62 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $82.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.21. The company has a market capitalization of $198.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.02. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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 lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.41.

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.