Integrity Alliance LLC. Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Integrity Alliance LLC nearly doubled its Merck stake in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 95.2% to 22,219 shares valued at about $2.34 million.
• Institutional interest in Merck remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 76.07% of the stock; several large firms also added to their positions recently.
• Analysts are generally constructive on Merck, with a Moderate Buy consensus and a price target of $128.18, while the company also reported earnings and revenue that beat expectations in its latest quarter.

Integrity Alliance LLC. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 95.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,219 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,837 shares during the quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. DLD Asset Management LP grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in 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. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. UBS Group upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $120.27 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. 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 50 day moving average price of $116.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $297.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.88, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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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