Voleon Capital Management LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Voleon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.6%, holding 68,933 shares worth approximately $6.19 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Merck's recent earnings report revealed $2.13 earnings per share, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.03, although revenue of $15.81 billion fell short of the $15.92 billion forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding 3.8%, payable to shareholders of record on September 15th.

Voleon Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 30.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,933 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,140 shares during the quarter. Voleon Capital Management LP's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% during the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. Quilter Plc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company's stock worth $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock worth $2,997,000 after acquiring an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company's stock worth $5,118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,850 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MRK traded down $0.55 on Wednesday, hitting $84.06. 11,567,946 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,077,182. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $209.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50 day moving average is $82.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.95. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $119.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

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.