<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Hedges Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,800 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,900 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC's holdings in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. were worth $1,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>As the Market Rotates, This Healthcare ETF Is Leading the Way</li></ul><p>Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter.  Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the period.  Quilter Plc increased its position in shares of  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period.  Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter.  Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after buying an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own  76.07% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Stock Performance</h2><p>Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $82.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.81. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. </p><ul><li>Moderna  Stock Looks Ripe for a Short Squeeze</li></ul><p>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck &amp; Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion.  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Announces Dividend</h2><p>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 paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. 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 &amp; Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><ul><li>Moderna: 4 Key Reasons the CEO Just Bought $5M in Shares</li></ul><p>Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from an &#34;overweight&#34; rating to a &#34;cautious&#34; rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo &amp; Company reduced their price objective on Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst  has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned  a Buy rating, twelve have issued  a Hold rating and one  has assigned  a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock  has a consensus rating of &#34;Hold&#34; and a consensus price target of $107.44.</p><p><b>Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MRK</b></p><h2>About Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</h2> (Free Report)<p>Merck &amp; 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.</p><h2>Featured Articles</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</li><li>How to Start Investing in Real Estate</li><li>Ride the Luxury Retail Wave with These 3 High-End Brand Stocks</li><li>What is the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)?</li><li>Wall Street Quietly Bets Big on These Chinese Tech Giants</li><li>What Are Dividend Champions? How to Invest in the Champions</li><li>Meta's $600B U.S. Investment: Bearish or Bullish for Shares? </li></ul><p><strong>Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK?</strong> Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck &amp; Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).</p><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Merck &amp; Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck &amp; Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Hedges Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.2% in Q2, now holding 13,800 shares valued at $1.09 million. Other investors, including Semus Wealth Partners and Longfellow Investment Management, have increased their positions. Merck's stock opened at $82.87, with a market cap of $206.99 billion. The company reported Q2 earnings of $2.13 EPS, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share. Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with some downgrading their price targets.</p>

Hedges Asset Management LLC Has $1.09 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK