Sutton Place Investors LLC Invests $452,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Sutton Place Investors LLC invested approximately $452,000 to acquire 5,709 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter.
• Merck & Co., Inc. reported an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.10, and had a revenue of $15.81 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.6% and a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Sutton Place Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 223.6% during the first quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 39,342 shares of the company's stock worth $3,531,000 after buying an additional 27,185 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 24.9% during the first quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,245 shares of the company's stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.5% during the first quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 3,343 shares of the company's stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,689 shares of the company's stock worth $421,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $89.25 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $82.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.61.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 3.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. 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 note on Thursday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.41.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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