Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 217,330 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,527,577 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $266,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. High Note Wealth LLC increased 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK stock opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $116.42 and a 200-day moving average of $111.81. The company has a market cap of $284.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

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.