Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Swan Global Investments LLC

Swan Global Investments LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,042 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 494 shares during the quarter. Swan Global Investments LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 48,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,332,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth about $888,000. Cullinan Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 45,319 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,068,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the period. Finally, Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Rappaport Reiches Capital Management LLC now owns 2,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.33.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $84.78 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $83.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $211.76 billion, a PE ratio of 13.06, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $109.92.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.92%.

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.