China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 49.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,978 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $721,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 99,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,942,000 after purchasing an additional 19,046 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 491,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,119,000 after purchasing an additional 7,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Hill Asset Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Round Hill Asset Management now owns 76,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,849,000 after buying an additional 4,365 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $100.33 on Monday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $73.31 and a twelve month high of $105.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $249.02 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.10 and its 200 day moving average is $85.43.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 EPS 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 net margin of 29.63% and a return on equity of 44.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Berenberg Bank lowered 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $110.00 to $111.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 8th. 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 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $125.00 in a report on Monday, November 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

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.