Cooper Financial Group Has $367,000 Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cooper Financial Group decreased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 27.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,638 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MRK opened at $89.45 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $112.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. 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 has a fifty day moving average of $82.78 and a 200-day moving average of $81.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business 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. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued 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 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.