CX Institutional Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• CX Institutional reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.4%, selling 18,031 shares and bringing its total holdings to 107,334 shares valued at approximately $8.5 million.
• Several analysts have recently adjusted their ratings on Merck, with Wells Fargo lowering its price target from $97.00 to $90.00 and maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Merck disclosed a recent quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.0%, set to be paid on October 7th to shareholders of record.

CX Institutional decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 107,334 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,031 shares during the period. CX Institutional's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying 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 $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $80.07. The stock had a trading volume of 5,460,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,994,889. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $116.26. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $82.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.24.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

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.