LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.3%, owning 81,724 shares valued at $6.47 million after acquiring 10,222 additional shares.
• Merck reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while their revenue totaled $15.81 billion, slightly below estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, which reflects a 3.6% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,724 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,222 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peoples Financial Services CORP. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the second quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% in the first quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $82.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $111.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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