Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Has $30.46 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 322.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 367,101 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 280,275 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $78.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $195.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. 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 fifty-two week low of $73.31 and a fifty-two week high of $114.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $82.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.