Simplify Asset Management Inc. Takes $787,000 Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 6,544 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $129.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $130.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $117.37 and its 200-day moving average is $115.36.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. 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.