Pensionfund Sabic Sells 3,500 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Pensionfund Sabic has decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.8%, selling 3,500 shares and retaining a total of 29,000 shares worth $2,603,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and ProShare Advisors LLC, have recently increased their holdings in Merck, indicating a mixed sentiment among major holders.
• Merck’s quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with earnings per share of $2.13, yet revenue fell short of estimates at $15.81 billion.

Pensionfund Sabic cut its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock worth $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st 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. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 21,547,758 shares of the company's stock worth $2,143,571,000 after purchasing an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,375,974 shares of the company's stock worth $1,828,040,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, 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 on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.74 on Monday, reaching $81.07. The stock had a trading volume of 10,227,257 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,124,038. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business's 50 day moving average is $82.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.68. The company has a market cap of $202.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $119.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 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.