Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA trimmed its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 18.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,445 shares during the quarter. Kepler Cheuvreux Suisse SA’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MRK. 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 worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,635,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,819,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $117.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.36. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $130.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.44 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue 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 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.