Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Shares Bought by IHT Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its Merck stake by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 9,195 additional shares to bring its total to 59,634 shares valued at about $6.28 million.
• Merck reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street expectations, posting EPS of -$1.28 versus the expected -$1.47 and revenue of $16.29 billion versus $15.85 billion, with revenue up 4.9% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share payable July 8, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $128.18.

IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 18.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,634 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,195 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesapeake Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 15,535 shares of the company's stock worth $1,635,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 4,142 shares of the company's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock worth $331,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 26.9% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 444 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE MRK opened at $115.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $116.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.53. The company has a market capitalization of $285.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.21. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.66 and a 12 month high of $125.14.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm 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 revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 95.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on MRK. Zacks Research raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, February 20th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

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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