Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lessened its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 290,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,927 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $30,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $115.67 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $116.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.53. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 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 $285.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.