Compound Planning Inc. Purchases 30,627 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 48.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,562 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,627 shares during the quarter. Compound Planning Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MRK shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $130.57 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74. 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 $322.49 billion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.62.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $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 2.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. 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.