Arwa LLC Invests $1.50 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Arwa LLC disclosed a new fourth-quarter stake in Merck, buying 14,290 shares worth about $1.5 million. The position makes up roughly 0.9% of Arwa’s portfolio and is its 25th largest holding.
• Merck continues to attract major institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Wellington also increasing their holdings. Overall, hedge funds and other institutions own 76.07% of the company’s shares.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Merck, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.18. The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and also announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend, equal to a 3.0% annualized yield.

Arwa LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 14,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.9% of Arwa LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock worth $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in 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 valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $125.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $115.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.60. The company has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.'s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.