Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by AM Investment Strategies LLC

AM Investment Strategies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,178 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,264 shares during the quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,418,820,000 after acquiring an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $991,553,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2,240.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,286,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $474,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,060,959 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 9,991.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,332,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,880,000 after acquiring an additional 4,289,516 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,397,000 after acquiring an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $79.89 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.23. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.37. 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 announced its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

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.