Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI Has $9.14 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.8% during Q2, holding 115,436 shares worth approximately $9.14 million at the end of the period.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates of $2.03, though it fell short on revenue with $15.81 billion against an expected $15.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 to be paid on October 7, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.6%.

Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI lowered its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 115,436 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,690 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 0.9% of Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Fishman Jay A Ltd. MI's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,138,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $89.25 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $82.87 and a 200 day moving average of $81.52. The firm has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank downgraded 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.

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