Caxton Associates LLP Increases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Caxton Associates LLP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,421 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,458 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,889,340,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,858,570,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.5% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 27,032,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,139,901,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135,748 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 35.5% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,456,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,540,145,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 53,865,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,263,991,000 after purchasing an additional 4,636,183 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $100.33 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.10 and its 200 day moving average is $85.43. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $105.84. The company has a market capitalization of $249.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $17.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 44.54% and a net margin of 29.63%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This is a positive change from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, October 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Berenberg Bank cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total transaction of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.