DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,306,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $156,693,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 3.5% of DJE Kapital AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after buying an additional 1,859,990 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 44,946,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,731,018,000 after buying an additional 359,486 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MRK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $124.41 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $131.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $120.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.14. The company has a market capitalization of $307.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19. 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. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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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