Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by XML Financial LLC

Key Points

• XML Financial LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% in Q2, owning 72,306 shares valued at approximately $5.72 million.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings showed a profit of $2.13 per share, exceeding expectations, although revenue fell slightly short of estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $3.24 and a yield of 4.1% for stockholders of record.

XML Financial LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 6.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,306 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,216 shares during the quarter. XML Financial LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after buying an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $991,553,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $78.46 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day moving average is $82.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $114.79. The company has a market capitalization of $195.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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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