Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. Makes New $488,000 Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. has acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. valued at approximately $488,000, purchasing a total of 5,831 shares in the second quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst expectations but with revenues slightly below forecasts at $15.81 billion.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.0%, with the payout scheduled for October 7th.

Strathmore Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $488,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company's stock worth $7,330,668,000 after buying an additional 927,621 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Berenberg Bank lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on 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. Finally, 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $81.60. The stock had a trading volume of 10,447,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,196,624. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $119.20. The firm has a market cap of $203.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 0.83 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. The business's fifty day moving average is $82.83 and its 200-day moving average is $82.57.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 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. On average, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.