Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. Purchases New Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 196,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,721,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. 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 report on Monday, April 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE MRK opened at $114.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $282.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $115.90 and its 200-day moving average is $109.73.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 5.16 EPS for the current year.

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.