Union Savings Bank Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP increased its stake 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 last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $585,192,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 report on Monday, April 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.60. 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 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The firm has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

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

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.