Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Purchased by Convergence Investment Partners LLC

Convergence Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 16.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 46,800 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,508 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises about 0.9% of Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,973,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,069 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MRK shares. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $124.41 on Tuesday. 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 $307.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.37 and a 200-day moving average of $117.14. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 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.