&PARTNERS Has $53.04 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• &PARTNERS increased its Merck stake by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, ending with 503,900 shares valued at about $53.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Merck carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $128.18, despite some mixed rating changes and target cuts.
• Merck reported a better-than-expected quarter, beating EPS and revenue estimates, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, or $3.40 annualized, yielding about 3.0%.

&PARTNERS boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 503,900 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,464 shares during the quarter. &PARTNERS's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $53,041,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,090,000. Ashford Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,983 shares of the company's stock worth $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 834,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,789,000 after purchasing an additional 21,658 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,190,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,388,388,000 after acquiring an additional 381,742 shares during the period. Finally, Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at about $365,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $284.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.46. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company'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. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio 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.

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