Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC Buys Shares of 14,515 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Tulsa Wealth Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 14,515 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,528,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,098,196,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,354 shares during the period. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after acquiring an additional 11,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $585,192,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $114.04 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $115.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.60. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.66 and a 52 week high of $125.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $281.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

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