Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 34.3%, selling 1,995,577 shares and now holds 3,822,309 shares valued at approximately $343 million.
• Several hedge funds adjusted their positions, with Charles Schwab Investment Management increasing its stake by 144.6%, now holding over 49 million shares worth $4.4 billion.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 34.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,822,309 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,995,577 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.15% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $343,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $84.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.97.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business 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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

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.