Viking Fund Management LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company's stock valued at $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
MRK stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,831,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,986,054. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $82.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $200.46 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 0.84 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 given a $0.81 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MRK. Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.41.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co., Inc. Profile
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Free Report)
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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