Huber Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Huber Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 123.2%, acquiring an additional 25,000 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total shares to 45,293 valued at approximately $4.066 million.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while its revenue totaled $15.81 billion, slightly below analyst expectations.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.81 per share to be paid on October 7th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%.

Huber Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 123.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,293 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Huber Capital Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew 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 worth $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $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 increased 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 buying an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $0.92 on Friday, hitting $84.13. The stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,986,189. The stock has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $82.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.98. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.