Cullen Investment Group LTD. Has $9.53 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

by · The Markets Daily

Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 9.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 120,426 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 1.3% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $9,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. American Assets Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 591,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,799,000 after purchasing an additional 89,745 shares in the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 963.9% in the fourth quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. now owns 78,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,839,000 after purchasing an additional 71,393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $82.87 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $82.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $82.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.31 and a 12 month high of $119.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $15.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.92 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 41.05% and a net margin of 25.79%. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.81 dividend. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from an “overweight” rating to a “cautious” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.44.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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