Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Position Trimmed by Platinum Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Platinum Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.4%, now holding 875,820 shares, which accounts for about 4.6% of its portfolio.
• Merck reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, but noted revenue of $15.81 billion which slightly missed consensus expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 3.6%, set to be issued on October 7th.

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 875,820 shares of the company's stock after selling 159,400 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 4.6% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $69,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 22,778 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,543 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the second quarter. Cora Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,343 shares of the company's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 7.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $82.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $114.60. The company has a market capitalization of $225.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

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.

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