Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6%, acquiring an additional 149,218 shares, resulting in ownership of approximately $387 million worth of the stock.
• Several institutional investors raised their positions in Merck, with Charles Schwab Investment Management leading with a 144.6% increase, now owning over $4.4 billion in shares.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Merck & Co., Inc., with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,315,410 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 149,218 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.8% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.17% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $387,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ally Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Ally Financial Inc. now owns 113,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,143,000 after buying an additional 16,000 shares in the last quarter. Apexium Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.2% in the first quarter. Apexium Financial LP now owns 20,487 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 108,589 shares of the company's stock worth $9,747,000 after purchasing an additional 2,662 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 54,728 shares of the company's stock worth $4,912,000 after purchasing an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 472.5% during the 1st quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 18,521 shares of the company's stock worth $1,662,000 after purchasing an additional 15,286 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.24. 14,481,452 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,252,589. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week 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 company's 50 day moving average price is $81.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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.