KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $102.21 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.2% in Q2, now holding $102.21 million worth of shares.
• Merck reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding consensus estimates by $0.10, with a revenue of $15.81 billion.
• Merck's quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share will be paid on October 7th, representing a 3.6% yield based on its current stock price.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,280,070 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,000 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned about 0.05% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $102,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Clark & Stuart Inc boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clark & Stuart Inc now owns 108,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,688,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares in the last quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter. Roberts Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 64,444 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,101,000 after acquiring an additional 5,453 shares in the last quarter. Seamount Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $360,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 108,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,659,000 after acquiring an additional 20,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 3,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $88.83 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The company has a market capitalization of $221.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.48. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

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.

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