MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Invests $2.92 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 36,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,917,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter worth $2,858,570,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after acquiring an additional 5,135,748 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merck & Co., Inc.

In other news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.3%

MRK opened at $100.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.10 and a 200-day moving average of $85.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $105.84. The company has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The company had revenue of $17.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MRK. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.50.

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.