100,000 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Acquired by Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd

Key Points

• Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd purchased 100,000 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter, valued at approximately $8.98 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently reported earnings of $2.13 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.03, with quarterly revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which will be paid on October 7th, representing a 3.9% dividend yield.

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,976,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.7%

MRK traded up $0.62 on Tuesday, reaching $84.71. 8,031,999 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,166,199. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.93. The company has a market cap of $211.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

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.