Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management boosted its Merck stake by 86% in Q1, buying 59,377 additional shares and bringing its holding to 128,401 shares worth about $15.4 million.
• Institutional investors remain heavily involved in the stock, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 76.07% of Merck shares overall.
• Merck recently reported quarterly results that beat analyst expectations on both earnings and revenue, and the company also declared a $0.85 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.6%.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 86.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,401 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 59,377 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.4% of Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $15,445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MRK. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 38,278 shares of the company's stock worth $3,808,000 after buying an additional 8,710 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,941 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 15,636 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 359,356 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MRK. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. CICC Research initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MRK opened at $129.09 on Tuesday. 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 one year low of $76.66 and a one year high of $129.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $318.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $116.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.66.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. 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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