Burney Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Burney Co. lessened its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 28.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,479 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $1,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after acquiring an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,364,000 after acquiring an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter worth $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI grew 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 worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MRK shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Monday, March 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $131.83.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of MRK opened at $128.87 on Wednesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $130.29. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $115.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $318.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. The company’s revenue 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, equities research analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.