Modern Wealth Management LLC Has $4.79 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 14.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,645 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,968 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $4,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the fourth 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 period. Norris Perne & French LLP MI increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,543,000 after buying an additional 28,635 shares during the period. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinnbrook Capital Management LP now owns 23,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,450,000 after acquiring an additional 11,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,301,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,022,000 after acquiring an additional 320,143 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Key Stories Impacting Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Merck announced initial access plans for alimatravir, its investigational once-monthly oral HIV PrEP in Phase 3 development, and said it has signed voluntary licensing agreements covering 129 countries. That broad access strategy could support adoption in large international markets if the drug is approved. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Merck also issued a company release on the same alimatravir access plan, reinforcing that the program is moving forward and that it is trying to expand availability in regions that account for most new HIV diagnoses globally. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders also bought a high volume of Merck call options, which may reflect rising bullish speculation around the stock and the HIV pipeline, but it does not by itself change fundamentals. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Par Health launched the first generic version of Janumet XR in the U.S., which may pressure Merck’s diabetes-related sales and adds another competitive headwind for an established product. Article Title

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $131.06 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $121.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $117.71. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $323.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.92, a PEG ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.74 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is 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.