Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Trims Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 544,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,798 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up 1.4% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $65,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.0% in the first quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 918 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 176,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,205,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1,656.1% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 720 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter worth about $245,000. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,379 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 1,229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $123.72. The company had a trading volume of 8,388,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,797,806. 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 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $118.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.28. The firm has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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. Equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.72.

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.