Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 120,426 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,237 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Cullen Investment Group LTD.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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, Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.
Read Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
NYSE MRK traded down $1.74 on Monday, hitting $81.07. The stock had a trading volume of 10,227,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,124,038. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.93 and a 200-day moving average of $82.68. The company has a market capitalization of $202.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $119.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 currently 49.92%.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
(
Free Report)
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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