Highland Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.5%, owning 297,656 shares valued at approximately $23.56 million, making it the fund's 14th largest position.
• Several institutional investors boosted their holdings in Merck, with Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increasing its stake by 144.6% in the first quarter.
• Merck's stock is currently rated as a "Hold" by analysts, with an average target price of $106.41, despite recent target price reductions from firms like Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley.

Highland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 297,656 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 1.3% of Highland Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $23,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $82.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.61. The company has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

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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