Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,073,000.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
MRK has been the subject of several research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.1%
MRK opened at $112.63 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.54. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $125.14. 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 has a market cap of $278.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18.
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 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 analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.
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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