Lawood & Co. Takes Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Lawood & Co. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 24,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,574,000. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 2.4% of Lawood & Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% during the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $1,866,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8%

MRK opened at $111.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $116.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.37 and a 52 week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.