Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $346.47 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 52.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,880,199 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 995,059 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.12% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $346,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.50.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Merck from $140 to $150 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful potential upside from recent trading levels. Barclays raises Merck price target
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group modestly increased its fiscal 2027 EPS forecast to $9.54 from $9.52, signaling slightly stronger expectations for Merck’s longer-term earnings power. Erste Group raises Merck EPS estimate
• Positive Sentiment: Merck declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share, payable October 7 to shareholders of record September 15. The dividend supports the stock’s income appeal and represents an annualized yield of approximately 2.7%. Merck announces fourth-quarter dividend
• Positive Sentiment: A Merck-Wellcome joint venture is preparing doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine for clinical trials, providing a potential public-health and pipeline opportunity, although it is not an immediate earnings driver. Merck and Wellcome Ebola vaccine partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect second-quarter revenue of about $16.33 billion and a loss of $0.26 per share, with acquisition-related costs, Keytruda performance, and Gardasil demand likely to determine whether results beat or miss expectations. Merck second-quarter earnings preview
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation analysis finds Merck attractive on discounted cash flow and cash-flow measures but more fairly valued based on earnings, suggesting further gains will require continued fundamental execution. Merck valuation analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term uncertainty ahead of earnings—including acquisition costs and ongoing Gardasil challenges—may be weighing on sentiment despite expected strength from Keytruda. Merck earnings metrics preview

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $129.95 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $123.02 and a 200-day moving average of $118.37. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.53 and a 1 year high of $135.05. 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 $320.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.