LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Buys 9,999 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 34.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,150 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,999 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.72.

More Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK traded down $1.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $123.72. 8,388,403 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,797,806. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $116.28. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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.