May Hill Capital LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

May Hill Capital LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 115.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,820 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. May Hill Capital LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MRK. United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 83.0% in the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 160.5% in the third quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Barclays started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. One research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $111.36 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.37 and a 1 year high of $125.14. The firm has a market cap of $275.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.37, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $116.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $109.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. 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.