SHP Wealth Management Purchases New Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 6,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company’s stock worth $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MRK. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.1%

MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.60.

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. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.