Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,029 shares of the company’s stock after selling 812 shares during the quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after buying an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 81,669,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,330,668,000 after acquiring an additional 927,621 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,542,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter valued at $991,553,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $90.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $82.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.77. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $114.60. The company has a market cap of $225.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal 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 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 49.92%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.