Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 32.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,333,289 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 327,035 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $160,381,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup assumed 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 objective on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $130.86 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $323.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $122.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.94. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $132.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.