Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Vontobel Holding Ltd.

Key Points

• Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.8% during the second quarter, now holding 382,066 shares worth approximately $30.24 million.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiments, with Berenberg Bank downgrading its rating from "buy" to "hold" and adjusting the price target to $90.00, while the consensus rating remains "Hold" with an average price target of $104.31.
• Merck recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 3.7%.

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 382,066 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,364 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $87.38 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The stock's 50 day moving average is $83.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 13.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. 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 announced 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research 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 was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.