WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 13,893 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by purchasing 13,893 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million in the second quarter.
• Institutional ownership of Merck is significant, with 76.07% of the stock held by institutional investors and hedge funds, including major boosts from Vanguard and Charles Schwab.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.9%, and reported strong earnings surpassing analyst estimates.

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,100,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,665,601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $7,330,668,000 after purchasing an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $991,553,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective 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 Wednesday, October 8th. 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $83.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $110.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.40.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion during 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, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.

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