13,322 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Levin Capital Strategies L.P.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 13,322 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,603,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 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. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after purchasing an additional 5,152,069 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $117.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, 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 Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

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.