Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $5.36 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,092 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,468 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Semus Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Semus Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.4% in the first quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 19,376 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 3,282 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.6% during the first quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 1,180,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,988,000 after purchasing an additional 62,933 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 991.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 33,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 30,335 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 13.8% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 56,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,118,000 after purchasing an additional 6,850 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $84.00 target price (down from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.44.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $84.71 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $73.31 and a 12-month high of $119.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $211.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.37.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.