OLD National Bancorp IN Acquires 46,762 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 38.0%, acquiring an additional 46,762 shares during the second quarter, raising its total holdings to 169,722 shares valued at $13.43 million.
• Merck's latest quarterly earnings report beat expectations, with earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, representing a 3.6% dividend yield, with the pay date set for October 7th.

OLD National Bancorp IN boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 38.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,722 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,762 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Little House Capital LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. 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. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The company has a market cap of $222.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.61.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

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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