Keybank National Association OH Buys 22,955 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Keybank National Association OH raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 853,050 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,955 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $102,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after acquiring an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of MRK stock opened at $129.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.27. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 analyst estimates 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 was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.