Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Lifted by Evergreen Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 43.3%, acquiring an additional 48,179 shares, bringing its total holdings to 159,559 shares, valued at approximately $14.45 million.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.03, but fell short on revenue, generating $15.81 billion against a forecast of $15.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which will be paid on October 7th, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.9%.

Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 43.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 159,559 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 48,179 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 4th 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 buying an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MRK traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $84.13. The stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $82.97. The firm has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. 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. (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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.