Aberdeen Group plc Buys 12,338 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,526,331 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,338 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.6% of Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.18% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $356,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 252,513,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,665,601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,417,274 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 927,621 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 144.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 49,229,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,418,820,000 after buying an additional 29,104,112 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 13,077,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,130,397,000 after buying an additional 3,542,036 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at $991,553,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $100.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.31.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $86.02 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $111.58. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $83.47 and its 200-day moving average is $81.51. The company has a market capitalization of $214.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 25.79% and a return on equity of 41.05%. The company 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. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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