Royal Bank of Canada Raises Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,190,085 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 381,742 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,388,388,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gilpin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on MRK shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded 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 research report on Friday, May 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.2%

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.10 on Wednesday. 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 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $113.46. The firm has a market cap of $284.27 billion, a PE ratio of 32.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 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, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given 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 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.