Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $4.41 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 88.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 325,351 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MRK. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP raised its holdings 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 valued at $3,986,675,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $114.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released 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 firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period 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. Research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.