Integrity Alliance LLC. Increases Stock Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 95.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,219 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,837 shares during the quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC.’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $2,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MRK. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position 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 valued at $60,731,000 after purchasing an additional 24,576 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,296,000 after purchasing an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,181,000 after purchasing an additional 99,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,866,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRK. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered Merck & Co., Inc. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE:MRK opened at $120.27 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $116.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.17. The company has a market capitalization of $297.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last released its quarterly 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. The firm 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.16 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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.