Cwm LLC Purchases 140,163 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Cwm LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2%, acquiring an additional 140,163 shares, bringing its total holdings to 771,977 shares valued at $61.11 million at the end of the second quarter.
• Several institutional investors have also raised their positions in Merck, with 76.07% of the company's stock currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Merck reported a quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, which reflects a yield of 3.8%.

Cwm LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 771,977 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 140,163 shares during the period. Cwm LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $61,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Little House Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised 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 period. Quilter Plc raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% during the second quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 888,415 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,327,000 after buying an additional 79,529 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.7%

MRK stock opened at $86.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The stock has a market cap of $214.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average is $83.47 and its 200 day moving average is $81.47.

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, topping 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 for 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.

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