IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0%, acquiring an additional 19,380 shares, bringing its total holdings to 504,465 shares valued at approximately $39.93 million.
• Several institutional investors have significantly increased their positions in Merck, with notable increases such as Charles Schwab Investment Management's stake growing by 144.6% in the first quarter.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 4.0% yield, with the next payment scheduled for October 7th.

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504,465 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 19,380 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $39,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds 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% 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 period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. 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 acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $81.60 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $82.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.57. The company has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.20. 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 released 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. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 4.0%. 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. 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.

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