Thornburg Investment Management Inc. Has $392.48 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,728,673 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 208,042 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. comprises approximately 4.9% of Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $392,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 3.4%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $284.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s fifty 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. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is currently 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.