Pzena Investment Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Pzena Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. with the purchase of 3,324 shares, valued at approximately $263,000.
• Merck's latest earnings report showed EPS of $2.13 for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.03, while the company's quarterly revenue was slightly below expectations at $15.81 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 3.8%, with a payout ratio of around 50%.

Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,324 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $263,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $85.64 on Tuesday. The business's 50 day moving average is $83.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.40. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $111.58. The company has a market capitalization of $213.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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 for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion for 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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