Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Redwood Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Redwood Investment Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 608.0%, acquiring an additional 22,138 shares and totaling 25,779 shares valued at $2.31 million as of the end of the reporting period.
• Multiple analysts have revised their price targets for Merck, with Wells Fargo reducing its target from $97.00 to $90.00 and Citigroup also lowering its target to $84.00, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the stock.
• Merck & Co., Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81, set to be paid on October 7th, equating to an annualized payout of $3.24 and a dividend yield of 3.8%.

Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 608.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,779 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,138 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 31,377,107 shares of the company's stock worth $3,121,395,000 after acquiring an additional 4,511,742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,791,737 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE:MRK traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $83.24. 14,481,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,252,589. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $82.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut 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 decreased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.