Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Has $15.70 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.6% during the second quarter, holding 198,292 shares valued at approximately $15.70 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but its revenue slightly fell short of estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, equivalent to an annual yield of 3.7%, with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 198,292 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,525 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $87.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The firm's 50 day moving average is $83.34 and its 200-day moving average is $81.53. 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. 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 the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MRK. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

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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