Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 64.3%, owning 35,794 shares worth approximately $2.83 million as of the end of Q2.
• Analysts have downgraded Merck's stock rating with Berenberg Bank and Wells Fargo cutting their price targets to $90, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold".
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 64.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,794 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,009 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.2% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after purchasing an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $79.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $198.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $116.02. The company's 50-day moving average price is $82.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $82.21. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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