Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Has $15.18 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,173 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,268 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for approximately 0.6% of Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck’s tulisokibart met its endpoint in a Phase 3 ulcerative colitis study, strengthening confidence in the company’s immunology pipeline and offering a possible future growth driver. Merck’s Anti-TL1A Antibody Meets Goal in Ulcerative Colitis Study
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Keytruda in combination with Padcev for cisplatin-ineligible patients with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, which could support oncology sales and broaden Keytruda’s international use. European Commission Approves KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Padcev®
• Positive Sentiment: CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck with an outperform rating and a $138 price target, signaling Wall Street expects further upside from current levels. Benzinga report on CICC coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi maintained its hold rating on Merck, suggesting a more cautious view but no major change in the stock thesis. Citi Keeps Their Hold Rating on Merck & Company (MRK)
• Positive Sentiment: Scotiabank reaffirmed its buy rating on Merck, adding to the bullish analyst backdrop. Scotiabank Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Merck & Company (MRK)

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.74 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $115.77 and its 200-day moving average is $114.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $298.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.01, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio 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.