MetLife Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.8%, selling 13,906 shares to own 767,569 shares valued at $68.9 million.
• Institutional ownership of Merck stands at 76.07%, with significant stake increases from firms like Charles Schwab Investment Management and Pacer Advisors.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations with $2.13 EPS, and the company announced a quarterly dividend of **$0.81** per share to be paid on **October 7th**.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 767,569 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,906 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $68,897,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $22,665,601,000 after buying an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,121,395,000 after buying an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,143,571,000 after buying an additional 3,791,737 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $83.91. The company had a trading volume of 4,292,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,244,503. 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 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a market cap of $209.58 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $82.04 and a 200-day moving average of $83.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.