CCM Investment Advisers LLC Buys 22,535 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• CCM Investment Advisers LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.6%, acquiring an additional 22,535 shares during the second quarter, bringing their total holdings to 167,108 shares valued at approximately $13.23 million.
• Merck reported $2.13 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, while the company's revenue for the quarter was $15.81 billion, slightly below the projected $15.92 billion.
• The board declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 4.1%, and has set a dividend payout ratio of 49.92%.

CCM Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,108 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,535 shares during the quarter. CCM Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during 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 grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.26. The firm has a market cap of $199.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released 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 company 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

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.

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