Employees Provident Fund Board Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Employees Provident Fund Board disclosed a new fourth-quarter position in Merck, buying 2,415,034 shares valued at about $254.2 million. The stake makes MRK its 15th-largest holding and about 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Other institutional investors also added to or established positions in Merck, and 76.07% of the stock is now owned by institutions. This suggests continued broad institutional interest in the company.
• Merck’s latest results topped expectations, with Q1 revenue of $16.29 billion and EPS of ($1.28) versus an expected ($1.47). The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, implying a 3.0% annual yield.

Employees Provident Fund Board purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,415,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $254,206,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises 1.9% of Employees Provident Fund Board's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Employees Provident Fund Board owned 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock worth $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock worth $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,543,000 after acquiring an additional 28,635 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $114.04 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The business's fifty day moving average is $115.94 and its 200 day moving average is $113.60. 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 company has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. 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 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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