Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 888,415 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,529 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.0% of MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $70,327,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Fiduciary Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.41.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.4%

MRK opened at $79.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $198.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $116.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 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, equities analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.