Cerity Partners LLC Has $180.99 Million Stake in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its Merck stake by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 1,719,450 shares valued at about $180.99 million.
• Analysts remain mostly positive on Merck, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $128.18, while several firms recently raised or adjusted targets.
• Merck reported quarterly earnings and revenue that beat estimates, and it also declared a $0.85-per-share quarterly dividend payable July 8, implying a 2.8% yield.

Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,719,450 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,824 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.07% of Merck & Co., Inc. worth $180,991,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. High Note Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, United Financial Planning Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MRK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $119.39 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.56 and a 200-day moving average of $112.68. The company has a market capitalization of $294.88 billion, a PE ratio of 33.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.30. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.66 and a 52-week high of $125.14.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio is 95.77%.

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.

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