Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK is Atle Fund Management AB's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Atle Fund Management AB increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.0% during Q2, now holding 139,172 shares valued at approximately $11 million.
• Merck reported a Q2 EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, and its revenue was $15.81 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 4.0%, to be paid on October 7th.

Atle Fund Management AB grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,172 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,493 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 4.7% of Atle Fund Management AB's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Atle Fund Management AB's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,017,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.8% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 17,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 77,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,165,000 after acquiring an additional 5,704 shares during the period. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 40,403 shares of the company's stock worth $3,198,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.4% in the second quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 4,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $81.41. 25,594,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,707,637. The company has a market cap of $203.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $118.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company's 50-day moving average price is $82.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.34.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.