Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Increased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.3% in Q1, now owning 7,757,818 shares valued at approximately $691 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Cahill Financial Advisors Inc., also raised their positions in Merck during the fourth quarter, with institutional investors owning 76.07% of the company's stock.
• Merck's quarterly earnings resulted in an EPS of $2.13, beating estimates, and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, reflecting a 3.8% yield.

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,757,818 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,380,066 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.7% of AQR Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.31% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $691,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,924 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,438 shares in the last quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Brooks Moore & Associates Inc. now owns 47,756 shares of the company's stock worth $4,751,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 215,112 shares of the company's stock worth $21,399,000 after purchasing an additional 29,549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MRK. 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $85.34 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm's 50 day moving average is $82.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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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