Integrity Alliance LLC. Boosts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 369.8% this quarter, now owning a total of 25,177 shares valued at approximately $2.26 million.
• Numerous hedge funds have also adjusted their holdings in Merck, with institutional investors currently owning 76.07% of the company's stock.
• Merck recently reported an EPS of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 to be paid in October.

Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 369.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,177 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,818 shares during the period. Integrity Alliance LLC.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% in the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $82.87. 9,931,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,151,134. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.85.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.