New York State Teachers Retirement System Buys 3,612 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.2%, acquiring an additional 3,612 shares in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately $172 million.
• Merck reported quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, but with a revenue of $15.81 billion, slightly below expectations.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.9% with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,175,214 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.09% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $172,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $84.11 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $210.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.20. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $83.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.