Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 217,330 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,527,577 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 217,330 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $266,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intrua Financial LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 8,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:MRK opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $116.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $111.81. The company has a market capitalization of $284.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given 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 currently 95.77%.

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.