10,063 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc.

Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. purchased a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,000. Merck & Co., Inc. accounts for about 0.8% of Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MRK. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. United Financial Planning Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $31,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Tucker Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $34,000. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 4.8%

NYSE MRK opened at $120.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14. The stock has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $116.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.32. 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 earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 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.