Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 10,082 Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 10,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after buying an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,543,000 after buying an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.47 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $115.79 and its 200 day moving average is $113.79. The firm has a market cap of $285.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.9%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MRK has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 report on Monday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.18.

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.