Bill Few Associates Inc. Sells 228 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Bill Few Associates Inc. lowered its stake 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 228 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,646,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,826,000 after buying an additional 86,412 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 46,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,167,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aries Wealth Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the first quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 28,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.02 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $83.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.