Meeder Asset Management Inc. Purchases 9,427 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 12.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,741 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,427 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 28,635 shares during the last quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after purchasing an additional 11,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,022,000 after buying an additional 320,143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

MRK stock opened at $127.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $314.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a PEG ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $120.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.01. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s revenue 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. On average, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Merck & Co., Inc. News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MRK. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

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.