John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Has $11.34 Million Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 7.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,050 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,997,933,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,435,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,098,196,000 after buying an additional 11,156,354 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,012,530,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth about $585,192,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 37.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 18,753,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,973,983,000 after acquiring an additional 5,152,069 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $120.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.66 and a 1-year high of $131.74.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.Merck & Co., Inc.’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend 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.