Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter, purchasing 58,150 shares valued at approximately $4.6 million.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.0%, with a payout ratio of approximately 49.92%.
• Merck's stock posted earnings of $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, though it reported revenue slightly below estimates at $15.81 billion.

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 58,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,603,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Little House Capital LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock worth $1,998,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after buying an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after buying an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after buying an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.3%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $80.44 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $82.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $200.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $118.16.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 research note on Thursday, July 10th. 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 on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

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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