Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $28.23 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% during Q1, bringing its total holdings to 314,492 shares valued at $28.23 million.
• Merck's stock was up 1.3% to an opening price of $87.18, with institutional investors owning 76.07% of the company.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 314,492 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,496 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $28,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th 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. in the fourth quarter worth $398,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $786,000. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 6,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leslie Global Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MRK traded up $0.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.95. 6,136,712 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,255,423. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $209.69 billion, a PE ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day moving average is $82.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.