Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC Has $3.89 Million Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 36,674 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,909 shares during the period. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up about 0.7% of Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC’s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 254,322,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,770,014,000 after buying an additional 2,185,853 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 60,047,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,307,572,000 after buying an additional 249,110 shares in the last quarter. DLD Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 30.1% during 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter worth $3,997,933,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 24,873,327 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,618,166,000 after purchasing an additional 805,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company’s stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $120.23 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $125.14. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $116.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $112.32. The stock has a market cap of $296.95 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MRK. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Guggenheim raised their price target 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. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Company 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.