7,195 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Purchased by Greenspring Advisors LLC

Greenspring Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after acquiring an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $120.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.52 and a 200-day moving average of $112.32. 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 stock has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21.

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 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MRK. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded 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 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.