Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd Reduces Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 7.1%, now holding 98,426 shares valued at approximately $8.84 million.
• Merck's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations with $2.13 earnings per share, while revenue fell slightly short of estimates at $15.81 billion.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share indicates a 3.9% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.

Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd decreased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,426 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,575 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 1.9% of Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $8,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock worth $474,543,000 after buying an additional 5,060,959 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock worth $388,880,000 after buying an additional 4,289,516 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $2,143,571,000 after buying an additional 3,791,737 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $84.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,870,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,934,819. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $82.97. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $120.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.44.

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.