Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Sells 561,487 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI significantly reduced its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.6%, now holding only 32,300 shares after selling 561,487 shares.
• Other hedge funds have increased their investments in Merck, with Semus Wealth Partners LLC raising its stake by 8.2% and Simplicity Wealth LLC by an impressive 991.7% in the first quarter.
• Merck recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share, with a yield of 3.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of nearly 50%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI cut its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 94.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 561,487 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the first quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company's stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised 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 valued at $105,988,000 after acquiring an additional 62,933 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% in 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. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $84.71 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $82.78 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. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $211.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 49.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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