Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Takes $3.20 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Nationale Nederlanden Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 40,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,200,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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 purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 141.7% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

MRK stock opened at $86.02 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $214.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $73.31 and a 1-year high of $111.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $81.47. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%.The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.31.

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.