Morningstar Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 10,924 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC has acquired 10,924 shares of Merck & Co., Inc., valued at approximately $865,000, during the second quarter.
• Institutional investors own 76.07% of Merck's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Merck's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $865,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,646,903 shares of the company's stock worth $147,826,000 after acquiring an additional 86,412 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 46,420 shares of the company's stock worth $4,167,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Finally, Good Life Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1% during the 1st quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 11,522 shares of the company's stock worth $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MRK opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $213.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $111.58. The company's 50-day moving average price is $83.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.40. 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 issued 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. The firm 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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.

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