Leo Wealth LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 65.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,118 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,115 shares during the quarter. Leo Wealth LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during 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 buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first 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. Amundi grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at about $258,267,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.4%
Shares of MRK opened at $86.39 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $215.78 billion, a PE ratio of 13.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $83.15 and a 200 day moving average of $81.56. 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.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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