Strs Ohio Takes $86.20 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 960,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $86,203,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Ellsworth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 18.0% during the 1st quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 12,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,964 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 36.4% in the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 7,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 1,906 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 64,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,790,000 after acquiring an additional 2,722 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 132,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,927,000 after purchasing an additional 13,867 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SWS Partners grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. SWS Partners now owns 20,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $73.31 and a one year high of $119.38. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $82.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.95. The company has a market capitalization of $209.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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. The business 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

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.