Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Decreases Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA reduced its Merck stake by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,857 shares and ending with 127,462 shares worth about $13.4 million.
• Other institutional investors were mixed on MRK, with several increasing holdings, and hedge funds and institutions collectively owning 76.07% of the stock.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Merck: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus, while the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates and announced a $0.85 quarterly dividend yielding about 3.0%.

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA lowered its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,857 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $13,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock worth $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MRK opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. 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. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 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 earned $2.22 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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 forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 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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