Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Key Points

• Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its Merck stake by 90.6% in Q4, adding 22,186 shares to reach 46,686 shares valued at about $4.9 million.
• Merck reported better-than-expected Q1 results, with EPS of -$1.28 versus estimates of -$1.47 and revenue of $16.29 billion, while raising FY 2026 guidance to $5.04-$5.16 EPS.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, payable July 8, which annualizes to $3.40 per share and a 2.8% yield.

Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 90.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,686 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,186 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 0.7% of Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Arrowpoint Investment Partners Singapore Pte. Ltd.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MRK. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company's stock worth $906,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $120.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $116.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $112.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

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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