Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Has $325,000 Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,061 shares of the company’s stock after selling 634 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $83.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $114.79. 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 $82.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.71.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut 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 report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 equities 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.