Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Acquires 5,765 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,905 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,765 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $12,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Intrua Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $906,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Payne Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Payne Capital LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MRK opened at $114.23 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $282.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $109.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.