324,039 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by Armistice Capital LLC

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC acquired 324,039 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $29 million, marking a significant investment in the company's stock.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a dividend declaration of $0.81 per share with a yield of 3.9%.
• The stock is subject to mixed analyst ratings, with a current average price target of $107.44, reflecting a mix of ratings from Strong Buy to Sell.

Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 324,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,086,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.22 on Thursday, reaching $83.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,248,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,209,050. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. 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 firm has a market cap of $209.71 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $82.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.01.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.