Wright Investors Service Inc. Boosts Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 44.0% during Q2, bringing its total holdings to 14,237 shares valued at approximately $1.1 million.
• Despite recent stock price downgrades from analysts like Morgan Stanley and Berenberg Bank, Merck maintains a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $106.41.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, yielding approximately 4.0% annually, with a payout ratio of 49.92%.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,237 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,348 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Little House Capital LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the second quarter. Little House Capital LLC now owns 25,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC increased its position 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 valued at $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% in 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. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.41. 25,594,757 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,707,637. The firm has a market cap of $203.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $118.16. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $82.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.34.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. 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 fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company 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 is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

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.