Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by CHICAGO TRUST Co NA

Key Points

• CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.1%, owning 50,952 shares valued at approximately $4 million as of the second quarter.
• Merck reported earnings per share of $2.13 for the recent quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, though revenue slightly missed estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 4.0% yield, to be paid to shareholders on October 7th.

CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 14.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 50,952 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,300 shares during the period. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 worth $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position 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 period. Amundi raised its position 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 period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $80.44 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $200.93 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $82.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $82.24. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $118.16.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently 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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