Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Sells 16,661 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec sold 16,661 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., reducing its holdings by 4.6% during the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Merck, with Charles Schwab Investment Management growing its holdings by 144.6% during the same period.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 344,817 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,661 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $2,143,571,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:MRK opened at $85.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $82.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.00. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $213.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm 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 predict 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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