Grandfield & Dodd LLC Has $17.69 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Grandfield & Dodd LLC reduced its Merck stake by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,228 shares and leaving it with 168,061 shares valued at about $17.69 million.
• Merck continues to draw significant institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors holding 76.07% of the stock overall. Several firms either added to or initiated positions in the company during recent quarters.
• Analysts remain broadly constructive on Merck: recent upgrades and target increases have produced a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $128.18, while the stock recently traded near $118.49.

Grandfield & Dodd LLC decreased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,061 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,228 shares during the quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $17,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company's stock worth $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 investment 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $118.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $125.14. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.46.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report).

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.