OFI Invest Asset Management Has $56.68 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• OFI Invest Asset Management increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6%, now holding 716,058 shares valued at approximately $56.68 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly boosted their positions in Merck, with Charles Schwab raising its holdings by 144.6% during the first quarter.
• Merck's stock has a recent average target price of $104.31, despite downgrade notices from several analysts, reducing their price targets for the stock.

OFI Invest Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 5.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 716,058 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,705 shares during the quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $56,683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first 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 acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $258,267,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the topic of several research reports. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $83.47 and a 200-day moving average of $81.47. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. 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 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $111.58.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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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