Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,511,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,609,000. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.8% of Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MRK opened at $118.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $292.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $116.39 and its 200 day moving average is $111.46.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors 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 yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. 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 research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Key Headlines Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to calderasib (MK-1084) with Keytruda in a lung cancer indication, a sign the program may move faster and expand Merck’s oncology growth prospects. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and recent articles highlighted Merck’s newer drugs, pipeline assets, and M&A options as potential offsets to looming Keytruda patent expiration, reinforcing the bull case for long-term growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck has also been drawing investor attention as a trending stock and has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past year, suggesting market confidence remains relatively strong. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference, which could provide an update on strategy but is not itself a major business catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Shareholders backed board nominees, pay, and auditor ratification at the annual meeting, which reduces governance uncertainty but is unlikely to move the stock much. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: The main longer-term concern remains Keytruda’s eventual loss of exclusivity, which could pressure Merck’s biggest revenue driver if replacement products do not scale quickly enough. Article Title

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.