JB Capital LLC Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• JB Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% in Q2, now owning 114,764 shares valued at approximately $9.09 million.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and had a revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.7%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

JB Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,764 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,414 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 52,663 shares of the company's stock worth $4,169,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aurora Private Wealth Inc. now owns 10,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $243,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.6% during the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 198,292 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,697,000 after acquiring an additional 32,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinion Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Pinion Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $87.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $83.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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 fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.31.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.