LVW Advisors LLC Has $1.50 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.9% during the 2nd quarter, bringing its holdings to 18,917 shares worth approximately $1.50 million.
• Institutional investors now own 76.07% of Merck's stock, with several firms, including Charles Schwab and Pacer Advisors, significantly raising their positions in the company.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in a 4.1% dividend yield for shareholders.

LVW Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,917 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.2%

MRK opened at $78.51 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $114.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $82.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.98. The company has a market capitalization of $196.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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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