Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 871,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 65,118 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $91,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. DLD Asset Management LP grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the 4th 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 period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.
Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance
Shares of MRK opened at $112.63 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $109.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $278.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.73, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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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