Leuthold Group LLC Purchases New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Leuthold Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 49,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,189,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Payne Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Payne Capital LLC now owns 10,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,120,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 12,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,275,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $111.36 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.37 and a 12-month high of $125.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $116.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.21. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.