Sei Investments Co. Buys 256,265 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 13.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,102,456 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 256,265 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $252,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Davis R M Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Davis R M Inc. now owns 24,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,950,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the first quarter worth about $230,000. American Investment Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.1% during the first quarter. American Investment Services Inc. now owns 66,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,997,000 after acquiring an additional 10,674 shares in the last quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.4% during the first quarter. Lavaca Capital LLC now owns 14,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aureus Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 11,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRK. Scotiabank increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $127.61 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $315.16 billion, a PE ratio of 35.95, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $117.45.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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