Monetary Management Group Inc. Purchases 5,100 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.9% during the first quarter, owning a total of 18,910 shares valued at approximately $1.7 million.
• Merck's quarterly earnings exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $2.13 earnings per share against a forecast of $2.03, though revenue fell slightly short of estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.8%, which will be paid on October 7th to investors of record on September 15th.

Monetary Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 36.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,910 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

MRK opened at $86.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $214.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $81.53 and its 200 day moving average is $83.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. One equities 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.

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