Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by 111 Capital

111 Capital raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,706 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares during the period. 111 Capital’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.3%

MRK stock opened at $89.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.61. 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 $111.58.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.