Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC

Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 209.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 15,009 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,165 shares during the quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Element Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 284.6% during the 4th quarter. Element Capital Management LLC now owns 24,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 18,112 shares during the last quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at $6,368,000. First Manhattan CO. LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 156,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,613,000 after purchasing an additional 13,999 shares in the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC now owns 460,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,462,000 after purchasing an additional 206,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City National Bank of Florida MSD lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. City National Bank of Florida MSD now owns 2,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK opened at $115.67 on Thursday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $116.22 and a 200-day moving average of $113.53.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. 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 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. One investment 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, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.