Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Acquires 9,029 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Fidelis Capital Partners boosted its Merck stake by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, adding 9,029 shares to bring its total holdings to 49,118 shares valued at about $5.17 million.
• Institutional ownership in Merck remains high, with large investors like Vanguard and Fisher also increasing their positions; overall, about 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutions.
• Merck recently topped quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and also announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $128.18.

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,118 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,029 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $26,770,014,000 after acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company's stock worth $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MRK. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $120.27 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $297.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.18. 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 $75.40 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $116.23 and a 200-day moving average of $111.17.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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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