Causeway Capital Management LLC Purchases 313,396 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 53.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 897,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 313,396 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.7% of Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $80,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PKS Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 57.9% in the 1st quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 2,394 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 628,424 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,407,000 after acquiring an additional 86,268 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.3% in the 1st quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 10,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 11,599 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 4,315,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $387,351,000 after acquiring an additional 149,218 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $84.00 target price (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of MRK opened at $85.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $213.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.02. 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 1 year low of $73.31 and a 1 year high of $120.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results 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 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. On average, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a 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.