Capital International Investors Has $90.60 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Capital International Investors cut its Merck stake by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, selling more than 2.5 million shares and leaving it with 860,735 shares worth about $90.6 million.
• Merck continues to draw heavy institutional interest, with more than 76% of shares owned by institutions and hedge funds, including major holders like Vanguard and Geode Capital Management.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on MRK, with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.18; Merck also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue and announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend.

Capital International Investors reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 860,735 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,532,633 shares during the period. Capital International Investors' holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $90,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company's stock worth $2,618,166,000 after buying an additional 805,201 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MRK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $116.56 and its 200-day moving average is $112.68. The stock has a market cap of $294.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.63, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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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