Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Raised by Central Valley Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter, owning 23,161 shares worth $1.83 million at the end of the quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Central Valley Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,161 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,312 shares during the period. Central Valley Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $81.60. 10,447,826 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,196,624. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $82.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.57. The firm has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $119.20.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.