Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC Acquires 20,715 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Cassaday & Co Wealth Management sharply increased its Merck stake in the first quarter, buying 20,715 additional shares and lifting its holdings by 248.5% to 29,052 shares worth about $3.5 million.
• Other institutional investors also boosted positions, and hedge funds/institutions now own about 76.07% of Merck’s shares, signaling continued professional investor interest.
• Analysts remain generally constructive on the stock despite a recent downgrade from Wall Street Zen; Merck has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $133.94 average price target.

Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 248.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,052 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,715 shares during the quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after acquiring an additional 8,710 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 52.2% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,494 shares of the company's stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 94.1% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 32,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,590,000 after purchasing an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 22.2% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,031 shares of the company's stock worth $3,054,000 after purchasing an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 111.7% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 681,128 shares of the company's stock worth $53,918,000 after purchasing an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MRK shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $120.00 price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $124.41 on Tuesday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $131.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $120.37 and a 200-day moving average of $117.14. 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 stock has a market cap of $307.27 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 company earned $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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