Garde Capital Inc. Has $175,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Garde Capital Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 62.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,207 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,695 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK

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.

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