PDS Planning Inc Sells 1,174 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

PDS Planning Inc decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,174 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st 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 period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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 downgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.51. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Equities analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.