Cullen Investment Group LTD. Purchases 8,890 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,316 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,890 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for 1.5% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Merck & Co., Inc.

In related news, EVP David Michael Williams sold 8,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.59, for a total value of $720,044.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 24,578 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,054,475.02. This trade represents a 25.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $98.25 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $92.54 and its 200-day moving average is $85.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $243.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.29. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $105.84.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $1.57 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.930-8.980 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.81. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 44.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MRK. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $92.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, October 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.00.

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.