Greenspring Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 7,195 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Greenspring Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $757,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. High Note Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.23 on Friday. 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. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $125.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $116.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $112.32. The company has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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 expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.