Whittier Trust Co. Raises Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 585,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 27,439 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.8% of Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $70,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,819,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MRK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $129.34 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.47. The stock has a market cap of $319.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.43, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $130.29.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. 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.