Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,163,331 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 100,280 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $333,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in 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. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth about $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 note on Friday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One 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 MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
NYSE MRK opened at $113.57 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $73.31 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $280.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $116.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.01.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted that Keytruda drove Merck’s strong first-quarter sales, with revenue topping expectations and sales around $8 billion, reinforcing the drug’s importance to MRK’s 2026 growth outlook. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Merck said it will present new long-term oncology data and more than 100 abstracts at ASCO 2026, which could keep investor focus on the strength of its cancer portfolio and pipeline. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Merck broadened KEYTRUDA collaboration efforts with partners including Erasca and Inhibrx, signaling continued pipeline development around combination therapies as the company prepares for eventual patent-expiry pressure. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: One analyst reinstated Merck with a “Neutral” rating and a $125 price target, suggesting the stock may be fairly valued near current levels rather than clearly undervalued or overvalued. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: A valuation-focused article noted mixed recent share performance, including short-term weakness despite strong longer-term returns, which may be tempering enthusiasm even as fundamentals remain solid. Article Title
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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