Keybank National Association OH Grows Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Keybank National Association OH increased its Merck stake by 2.8% in the first quarter, adding 22,955 shares to bring its total holding to 853,050 shares worth about $102.6 million.
• Other major institutional investors also boosted their positions in Merck, and institutions now own 76.07% of the company’s shares.
• Merck reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, yielding about 2.6%.

Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 853,050 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,955 shares during the quarter. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $102,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the period. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $117.04 and its 200-day moving average is $115.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29. The stock has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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 analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors 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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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.