Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $181.90 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 35.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,026,500 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530,939 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.08% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $181,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Mpwm Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $84.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $120.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.22 and a 200-day moving average of $82.98.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The firm 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.92%.

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.