Riverview Trust Co Sells 8,431 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Riverview Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 79.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,225 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,431 shares during the quarter. Riverview Trust Co’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during 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 during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during 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 during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $114.60. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 paid a $0.81 dividend. 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 is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.