Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by SRB Corp

Key Points

• SRB Corp has reduced its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.0%, now owning approximately 1.25 million shares valued at $111.80 million, positioning it as the 3rd largest stake in its portfolio.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Merck, with notable raises from Semus Wealth Partners LLC and Longfellow Investment Management Co., reflecting growing confidence among investors.
• Merck's latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, reporting $2.13 earnings per share on revenue of $15.81 billion, despite a slight miss on revenue estimates.

SRB Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,245,536 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,897 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 7.3% of SRB Corp's holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. SRB Corp's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $111,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $398,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 907,237 shares of the company's stock worth $90,252,000 after purchasing an additional 254,691 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $95,000. Finally, Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Dimensions Group Ltd. now owns 16,673 shares of the company's stock worth $1,659,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. One 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK traded up $1.1030 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $87.1830. The stock had a trading volume of 11,973,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,391,381. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.14. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $217.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 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.