MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 66,863 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 412,767 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 66,863 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during 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 last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on MRK. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays began 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $284.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc.’s 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. On average, analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 95.77%.

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.