Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,433,240 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,174 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $256,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 120,040,168 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,737,504,000 after acquiring an additional 1,859,990 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,307,572,000 after acquiring an additional 249,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $115.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.60. The company has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its earnings results 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’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, research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.