Little House Capital LLC Purchases 11,861 Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Little House Capital LLC increased its Merck stake by 87.1% in the first quarter, buying 11,861 additional shares and bringing its total to 25,476 shares valued at about $3.06 million.
• Merck continues to attract strong institutional interest, with 76.07% of the stock held by institutions and several other funds also adding positions during the quarter.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, while Merck also topped quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and recently paid a $0.85 quarterly dividend.

Little House Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 87.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,476 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,861 shares during the quarter. Little House Capital LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the first quarter worth approximately $197,550,000. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 6.4% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 7,284,151 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,211,000 after buying an additional 440,700 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 10,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,239,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, Spartan Wealth Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 1st quarter valued at $308,000. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MRK. Bank of America lifted their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, CICC Research started coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on 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. Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $127.47 on Friday. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $131.74. 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 company's 50 day moving average is $120.11 and its 200 day moving average is $116.94. The company has a market cap of $314.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.19.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The business 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 firm's revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Trending Headlines about Merck & Co., Inc.

Here are the key news stories impacting Merck & Co., Inc. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approval of LIPFENDRA gives Merck its first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, opening a new revenue stream in cardiovascular care and strengthening its non-oncology portfolio. Reuters article on FDA approval
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted continued oncology pipeline progress, including FDA acceptance of multiple regulatory filings and Merck’s broader effort to offset the eventual 2028 Keytruda patent cliff. Seeking Alpha article on pipeline expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also noted that Lipfendra’s launch is expected soon and that the drug could become a major product over time, though sales will depend on uptake, pricing, and competition from existing cholesterol therapies. Zacks article on Lipfendra launch
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also a rumor that Merck may be in a takeover battle for genomics company Personalis, but this appears speculative and is not confirmed. Yahoo Finance article on Personalis rumor

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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