Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK – Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 577,332 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,477 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $60,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.
Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance
MRK stock opened at $118.49 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.46. The firm has a market cap of $292.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18.
Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.
More Merck & Co., Inc. News
Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:
- Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
- Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
- Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
- Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Guggenheim raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.
View Our Latest Report on Merck & Co., Inc.
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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