Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Holdings Raised by CIBC Asset Management Inc

CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 51.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 720,718 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,419 shares during the quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $75,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during 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. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck said the FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for calderasib in combination with Keytruda for certain newly diagnosed metastatic KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer patients, which may speed development and improve the drug’s commercial outlook. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Moderna and Merck presented five-year data for their melanoma combination therapy, showing a 49% reduction in recurrence or death risk versus Keytruda alone, reinforcing confidence in Merck’s oncology pipeline and Keytruda’s franchise. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Reports highlighted possible new EU approval momentum for Keytruda, which would expand the drug’s reach outside the U.S. and support future revenue growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced a quarterly dividend, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile and signaling financial stability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck is also strengthening its capital structure with a notes offering, which may improve liquidity and financial flexibility. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck will participate in the Goldman Sachs Global Healthcare Conference, a routine investor event that could provide updates but does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer noting that Merck’s cancer dominance has been challenged by J&J is more of a competitive observation than a direct catalyst, but it underscores pressure in oncology. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Reuters reported Merck is discussing whether its COVID antiviral molnupiravir could be used in the Ebola response; this is potentially meaningful, but still exploratory. Article Title

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased 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 note on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $115.89 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.43 and a 12 month high of $125.14. 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 has a market capitalization of $286.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $111.81.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.