Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Buys 156,788 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Aware Super Pty Ltd increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 109.9% in the second quarter, acquiring an additional 156,788 shares, bringing its total to 299,433 shares valued at approximately $23.7 million.
• A number of institutional investors have made significant investments in Merck & Co., Inc., with 76.07% of the company's stock now held by institutions.
• Merck's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing analysts' expectations, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.9%.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 299,433 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 156,788 shares during the quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Aire Advisors LLC now owns 3,139 shares of the company's stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. Evernest Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 5,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 4,206 shares of the company's stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 47,813 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 7,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.11 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The business's fifty day moving average price is $83.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.

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