Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Acquired by iA Global Asset Management Inc.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 45,272 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,559 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Guardian Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $505,000. May Hill Capital LLC lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 115.9% in the fourth quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 10,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,139,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 101,322 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,665,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Barr E S & Co. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 135.9% in the fourth quarter. Barr E S & Co. now owns 9,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 5,523 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 11,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,243,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. One 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $111.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.37 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The business’s fifty day moving average is $116.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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 5.16 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.