WealthPLAN Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

WealthPLAN Partners LLC lowered its position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 44.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,954 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,747 shares during the period. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 8,710 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after buying an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after buying an additional 6,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after acquiring an additional 359,356 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MRK. CICC Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.6%

NYSE MRK opened at $128.87 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $117.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $115.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $318.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued 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 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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.