Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.1% in Q2 2023, owning a total of 47,813 shares valued at approximately $3.78 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on Merck's stock, with Citigroup setting a "neutral" rating and a price target of $95.00, while Wells Fargo reduced their target to $90.00.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,813 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,335 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,785,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,100,000. Uptick Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Uptick Partners LLC now owns 6,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 30,635 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,425,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.6% in the 2nd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Asset Management SPA SGR boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR now owns 239,814 shares of the company's stock worth $18,984,000 after purchasing an additional 16,340 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of 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. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $210.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $111.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $83.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company 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. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio 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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