Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,154,959 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,648 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 0.9% of Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $103,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% during 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 raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 price target (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $84.59 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.97. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $120.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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 $0.81 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 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.