Park Place Capital Corp Purchases 10,386 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Park Place Capital Corp significantly increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 354.6%, acquiring an additional 10,386 shares to a total of 13,315 shares valued at $1,089,000.
• Merck announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, with a yield of 4.1%, set to be paid to shareholders on October 7th.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on Merck, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a revised price target averaging $90.00 to $106.41 depending on the firm.

Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 354.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,315 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,386 shares during the quarter. Park Place Capital Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,089,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the company 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 given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $78.46 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $114.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $82.51 and a 200 day moving average of $81.69. The company has a market capitalization of $195.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a PEG ratio of 0.81 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS 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 given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. 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.

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