Oak Harvest Investment Services Has $4.91 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Oak Harvest Investment Services increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.3%, acquiring an additional 5,999 shares, bringing their total to 54,728 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently initiated positions in Merck, with 76.07% of the stock owned by institutional investors overall.
• 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 with a yield of 3.7%.

Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 12.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,728 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,999 shares during the period. Oak Harvest Investment Services' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the period. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Topsail Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.3% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 442,414 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,011,000 after purchasing an additional 52,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 111,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,043,000 after acquiring an additional 8,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.84 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $83.24. 14,471,299 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 15,312,849. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $120.30. The company has a market cap of $207.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.38. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.04.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.92%.

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.