Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4,501.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 327,509 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320,391 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $34,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP raised 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 worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 359,486 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $284.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.43 and a 200 day moving average of $113.38.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.