Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Grows Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 165.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 102,778 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,018 shares during the quarter. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas’ holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $10,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4,501.1% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 327,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,919,000 after buying an additional 320,391 shares during the period. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 18,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,057 shares during the period. Bluedoor Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $331,000. Finally, 71 West Capital Partners bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $959,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, 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 report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.10 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

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 issued 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 presently 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.