Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 1,391,088 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 285.6%, acquiring an additional 1,391,088 shares, bringing its total to 1,878,132 shares.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue slightly missed the target at $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%, and a dividend yield of 4.0%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 285.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,878,132 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,391,088 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $148,673,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $80.44. The company had a trading volume of 7,378,208 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,019,892. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $118.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.