Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd Invests $526,000 in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $526,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

MRK stock opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $294.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.68. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. 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 report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.