Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 25.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,457,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 498,962 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $175,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $130.57 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $131.74. The stock has a market cap of $322.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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, analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 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.