Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in Q2, owning 263,690 shares valued at approximately $20.87 million.
• Merck recently reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, surpassing expectations, and set FY 2025 guidance at EPS of 8.870-8.970.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.81 will be paid on October 7th, reflecting an annual yield of 3.9%.

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 9.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 263,690 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,866 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 1.2% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $20,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 worth $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $4,418,820,000 after purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 21.4% during the fourth 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, Amundi increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock worth $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $82.87 on Monday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $82.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.75. The company has a market cap of $206.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $119.38. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several research 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 for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus 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.

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