Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stock Holdings Increased by Allen Investment Management LLC

Allen Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 115.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,680 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,875 shares during the period. Allen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,545,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after purchasing an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,618,166,000 after purchasing an additional 805,201 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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 MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $284.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.47, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.