Vise Technologies Inc. Has $11.65 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Vise Technologies Inc. increased its Merck stake by 50.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 110,677 shares valued at about $11.65 million.
• Merck continues to attract major institutional interest, with firms like Vanguard, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank holding large positions; institutional investors own 76.07% of the stock.
• Merck recently topped quarterly earnings expectations and reaffirmed its FY 2026 EPS guidance, while also declaring a $0.85 quarterly dividend for a 2.8% annual yield.

Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 50.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,677 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,158 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company's stock worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company's stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company's stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company's stock worth $2,618,166,000 after purchasing an additional 805,201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $120.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $116.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.32.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $128.18.

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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