Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC Acquires 60,846 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Elevation Point Wealth Partners significantly increased its Merck stake in the first quarter, buying 60,846 additional shares and lifting its holdings by 108.9% to 116,727 shares worth about $14.1 million.
• Merck reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of -$1.28 beating estimates and revenue of $16.29 billion topping forecasts; revenue also rose 4.9% year over year.
• The company raised investor interest with a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share and continued bullish analyst sentiment, including recent price-target hikes that helped keep the stock at a Moderate Buy consensus rating.

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 108.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 116,727 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 60,846 shares during the quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $14,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Chesapeake Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the first quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,433 shares of the company's stock worth $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $129.34 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.66 and a 12-month high of $130.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.04 and a 200 day moving average of $115.27.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share 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 net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.22 earnings per share. 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 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 95.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MRK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $131.83.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.