Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Increases Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its ownership in Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5%, holding approximately $181.90 million in 2,026,500 shares as of the latest SEC filing.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed sentiments, with Citigroup reducing its price target to $84.00 and downgrading the stock’s rating from "overweight" to "cautious."
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 3.9% yield, with the upcoming payment set for October 7th.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 35.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,026,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 530,939 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $181,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock worth $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MRK traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $83.96. 12,553,252 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,332,990. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $82.51 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.01. The company has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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