Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 33.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,722,146 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 429,419 shares during the quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $181,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Friday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.