Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. Sells 260 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 6.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,881 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Willow Creek Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.90. The stock has a market cap of $196.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $114.79.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.