Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Curran Financial Partners LLC

Curran Financial Partners LLC lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,834 shares of the company’s stock after selling 222 shares during the quarter. Curran Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MRK opened at $89.25 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $82.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

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.