American Investment Services Inc. Buys 10,674 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• American Investment Services Inc. increased its Merck stake by 19.1% in Q1, buying 10,674 more shares and bringing its total holding to 66,477 shares worth about $8.0 million.
• Merck’s stock was up 1.1% and recently traded at $127.61, near its 52-week high of $131.74. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion.
• Merck beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, while analysts remain mostly positive with a Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $133.94. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, yielding 2.7% annually.

American Investment Services Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 66,477 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,674 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.8% of American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $7,997,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company's stock worth $1,973,983,000 after buying an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE MRK opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $131.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $120.93 and a 200-day moving average of $117.45.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.94.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health products. Its portfolio spans multiple therapeutic areas with a particular emphasis on oncology, vaccines and infectious disease, as well as therapies for metabolic and chronic conditions. Among its well-known products are the cancer immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and the human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil; the company also markets a range of medicines and vaccines for veterinary use through Merck Animal Health.

Founded in the late 19th century as the U.S.

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