Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 84,758 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,482 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,689 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 145,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,054,000 after buying an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.52. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.