<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of  Merck &amp; 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.</p><ul><li>As the Market Rotates, This Healthcare ETF Is Leading the Way</li></ul><p>Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of  Merck &amp; 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 &amp; Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,000.  AlTi Global Inc. boosted its holdings in  Merck &amp; 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 &amp; Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $243,000.  Finally, AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of  Merck &amp; 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. </p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of MRK stock opened at $84.13 on Friday. Merck &amp; 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. </p><ul><li>Moderna  Stock Looks Ripe for a Short Squeeze</li></ul><p>Merck &amp; 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 &amp; 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 &amp; Co., Inc. has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.870-8.970 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that  Merck &amp; Co., Inc. will post 9.01 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement</h2><p>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 &amp; Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.92%. </p><h2>Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades</h2><ul><li>Moderna: 4 Key Reasons the CEO Just Bought $5M in Shares</li></ul><p>A number of brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $99.00 to $98.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup  reaffirmed a &#34;neutral&#34; rating and set a $84.00 price objective (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from an &#34;overweight&#34; rating to a &#34;cautious&#34; rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo &amp; Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck &amp; Co., Inc. from $97.00 to $90.00 and set an &#34;equal weight&#34; 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 &#34;Hold&#34; and an average price target of $107.44.</p><p><b>Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</b></p><h2>About Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</h2> (Free Report)<p>Merck &amp; 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.</p><h2>Featured Stories</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Merck &amp; Co., Inc.</li><li>3 Dividend Kings To Consider</li><li>DICKS’s Sporting Goods Stock Dropped After Earnings—Is It a Buy?</li><li>Russell 2000 Index, How Investors Use it For Profitable Trading</li><li>Engines to AI: Cummins’ Surprising Growth Driver</li><li>Why is the Ex-Dividend Date Significant to Investors?</li><li>Smaller Industrials Names Seeing Surging Growth: Here's Why</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPU1SSw"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Merck &amp; Co., Inc. Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Merck &amp; Co., Inc., you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Merck &amp; Co., Inc. wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Merck &amp; Co., Inc. currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Armistice Capital LLC acquired 324,039 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) valued at approximately $29.1 million in Q1, as disclosed to the SEC. Other hedge funds also adjusted their positions in MRK, with Brighton Jones LLC increasing its stake by 29.5%. Merck's stock opened at $84.13, with a market cap of $210.14 billion. The company reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.81 per share. Analysts have mixed ratings on MRK, with an average target price of $107.44.</p>

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