APG Asset Management N.V. Purchases 29,698 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• APG Asset Management N.V. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1%, owning 2,685,193 shares valued at approximately $223 million, making it the 27th largest holding in their portfolio.
• Multiple large investors, including Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab, have also increased their stakes in Merck, with institutional investors now holding 76.07% of the stock.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings beat estimates with an EPS of $2.13, but revenue was slightly lower than expected at $15.81 billion, setting a guidance for FY 2025 EPS between $8.87 and $8.97.

APG Asset Management N.V. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,685,193 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,698 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.7% of APG Asset Management N.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. APG Asset Management N.V. owned about 0.11% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $223,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,576,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,314,598. The firm has a market cap of $210.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $81.86 and its 200 day moving average is $83.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.