Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Has $44.41 Million Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 421,930 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,560 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $44,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 4,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Burford Brothers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $968,000. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 63.4% in the fourth quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 23,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,421,000 after buying an additional 8,929 shares during the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 131,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,885,000 after buying an additional 2,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 4,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 1,584 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

NYSE:MRK opened at $111.36 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $74.37 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $116.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.