Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Purchases New Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. opened a new position in Merck during the fourth quarter, buying 2.51 million shares valued at about $264.6 million. The stake represented roughly 0.10% of Merck and made it the fund’s 17th-largest holding.
• Other large institutional investors also added to Merck, and 76.07% of the stock is now held by hedge funds and other institutions. This suggests Merck remains widely owned by professional investors.
• Analysts remain generally positive despite some mixed ratings: Merck carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $128.18. The company’s recent earnings beat estimates and it continues to benefit from pipeline progress, though Keytruda patent expiration remains a major long-term concern.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,511,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $264,609,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 0.8% of Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. owned about 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd 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. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company's stock worth $2,618,166,000 after acquiring an additional 805,201 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,733,923,000 after acquiring an additional 1,156,112 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $118.49 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $292.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.39 and a 200-day moving average of $111.46. 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. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm's 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. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend 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.

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