Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Position Trimmed by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0%, now holding 326,878 shares worth approximately $29.34 million.
• Merck's latest earnings report revealed $2.13 earnings per share, surpassing expectations despite a slight revenue miss of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.8% and a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Martingale Asset Management L P trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 326,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,631 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $29,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC now owns 46,329 shares of the company's stock worth $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 3,599 shares during the period. Aspire Growth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Aspire Growth Partners LLC now owns 6,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $606,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the first quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 62,942 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,649,000 after buying an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.4% during the first quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 31,904 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,864,000 after buying an additional 2,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% during the first quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 862,359 shares of the company's stock worth $76,948,000 after buying an additional 72,571 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

MRK traded up $1.1030 on Friday, reaching $87.1830. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,973,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,141,414. The stock has a market cap of $217.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30. 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 business's 50 day moving average is $81.64 and its 200 day moving average is $83.07.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.