Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Sold by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 63.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,493 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,865 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup began 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. CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $129.09 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $129.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $116.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.66. The stock has a market cap of $318.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. 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%.

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.