Armistice Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 324,039 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 324,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,086,000.

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Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th 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. American Assets Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000. AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 21,971 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,172,000 after acquiring an additional 2,281 shares during the period. Accredited Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 1,310,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $130,413,000 after buying an additional 76,424 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $84.13 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $73.31 and a 52-week high of $120.30. The stock has a market cap of $210.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.42. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $82.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.98.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.81 per share. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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

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A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from an "overweight" rating to a "cautious" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.44.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck & Co., Inc.

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.

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