Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC Lowers Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC significantly reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.0%, selling 58,400 shares and now owning only 3,052 shares valued at $274,000.
• Merck's quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $2.13 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.03, while revenue was slightly below estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.7%, with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC cut its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 95.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,052 shares of the company's stock after selling 58,400 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in 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. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock worth $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.16. The stock had a trading volume of 10,585,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,318,059. The firm has a market cap of $210.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $120.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $81.86 and a 200 day moving average of $83.03. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 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. Equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.