4,397 Shares in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Bought by Vantus Wealth LLC

Vantus Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $463,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MRK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. DLD Asset Management LP raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% in the third quarter. DLD Asset Management LP now owns 47,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,986,675,000 after buying an additional 11,000,000 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $585,192,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 16.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 19,844,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,665,585,000 after buying an additional 2,821,766 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 20.7% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 15,933,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,336,877,000 after buying an additional 2,735,459 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $122.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, March 30th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $115.28 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $284.72 billion, a PE ratio of 32.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.81. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.