Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Cullinan Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Cullinan Associates Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in Q2, now owning 49,594 shares valued at approximately $3.93 million.
• Merck reported Q2 earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing estimates, but actual revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of expectations of $15.92 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a yield of 3.6%, to be paid on October 7th.

Cullinan Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 49,594 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,275 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth about $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MRK opened at $89.25 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $82.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.52. 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 $111.58. The firm has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock 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 cut their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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