ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 628,875 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,109 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $66,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,659,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,733,923,000 after purchasing an additional 1,156,112 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after purchasing an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after purchasing an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.23 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $115.90 and a 200 day moving average of $109.73. The stock has a market cap of $282.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. One equities research 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

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.