First Growth Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

First Growth Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 5,631 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $593,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $116.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.21. 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. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid 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 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. FDA approved an additional indication for CAPVAXIVE, Merck’s pneumococcal vaccine, expanding its use to children and adolescents ages 2 through 17 at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. The expanded label could support longer-term sales growth and reinforces Merck’s vaccine franchise. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also announced broader corporate activity around AI drug discovery with Protillion Biosciences and a global HPV awareness campaign, which may help pipeline development and brand visibility over time but are not immediate revenue drivers. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate survey from Merck Animal Health highlighted unmet needs in treating canine allergic skin disease, suggesting future product opportunity, but it is a relatively small and less immediate catalyst for the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the FDA win, MRK has still been trading lower recently, reflecting broader weakness in the shares and suggesting investors may be waiting for more evidence that new and existing products can offset slower growth in other parts of the portfolio. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.