Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Quantbot Technologies LP

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.5% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 36,293 shares valued at approximately $3.26 million.
• Merck recently reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, but fell short on revenue with $15.81 billion compared to the anticipated $15.92 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81, which will yield 3.8%, with the payout ratio currently at 49.92%.

Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,293 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.4% in the first quarter. Foundation Wealth Management LLC PA now owns 5,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Saiph Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Saiph Capital LLC now owns 3,565 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,197 shares of the company's stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Tilson Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,965 shares of the company's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 6,021 shares of the company's stock worth $540,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $1.1030 on Friday, hitting $87.1830. The stock had a trading volume of 11,973,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,141,414. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. 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 stock has a market cap of $217.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average price is $81.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.11.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.