iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $4.77 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 69.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 45,272 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,559 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,733,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,112 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% during the 3rd 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. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,336,877,000 after acquiring an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MRK shares. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 0.0%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $111.36 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $116.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.37 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.