First Growth Capital LLC Takes $593,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

First Growth Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.21. 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 quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.60.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved an additional indication for CAPVAXIVE, Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine, expanding its use to children and adolescents ages 2 through 17 at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. The expanded label could support longer-term sales growth and reinforces Merck’s vaccine franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also announced broader corporate activity around AI drug discovery with Protillion Biosciences and a global HPV awareness campaign, which may help pipeline development and brand visibility over time but are not immediate revenue drivers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate survey from Merck Animal Health highlighted unmet needs in treating canine allergic skin disease, suggesting future product opportunity, but it is a relatively small and less immediate catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the FDA win, MRK has still been trading lower recently, reflecting broader weakness in the shares and suggesting investors may be waiting for more evidence that new and existing products can offset slower growth in other parts of the portfolio. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.