Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK Stake Trimmed by Avantax Planning Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Avantax Planning Partners trimmed its Merck stake by 11.7% in the first quarter, selling 13,075 shares and leaving it with 98,512 shares valued at about $11.85 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive: several analysts raised price targets, and Merck now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average price target of $133.94.
• Merck reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of ($1.28) versus estimates of ($1.47) and revenue of $16.29 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share for a 2.7% annualized yield.

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,512 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,075 shares during the quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc.'s holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $11,850,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock worth $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock worth $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.7% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 123,366 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,364,000 after purchasing an additional 13,940 shares during the period. Campbell Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,866,000. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its position in Merck & Co., Inc. by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 252,162 shares of the company's stock worth $26,543,000 after purchasing an additional 28,635 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Merck & Co., Inc. from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $136.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Merck & Co., Inc. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $123.93 on Tuesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $119.12 and a 200-day moving average of $116.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $306.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.66 and a fifty-two week high of $130.29.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.19. The company had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The business's revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 EPS. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 95.77%.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA expanded approval for Merck’s Keytruda, in combination with Pfizer’s Padcev, for use in muscle-invasive bladder cancer regardless of cisplatin eligibility, potentially expanding the market opportunity for one of Merck’s most important cancer drugs. FDA Expands MRK & PFE's Keytruda-Padcev Combo Use in Bladder Cancer
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan, BMO Capital Markets, and Guggenheim all raised their price targets on Merck and maintained bullish ratings, signaling improved Wall Street confidence in MRK’s upside. Analyst price target updates
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighting Merck as a bargain and the stock’s recent attention in the S&P 500 focus list may be adding to investor optimism around the shares. Merck (MRK) Stock Looks Like A Bargain At This Price
• Neutral Sentiment: There was also discussion of Merck’s Januvia/Janumet franchise as a benchmark in a generic drug partnership story, but this appears to be more contextual than a direct new catalyst for MRK today. Cosmos Health Accelerates Prescription Medicine Strategy...
• Negative Sentiment: Retail chatter continues to focus on Merck’s looming Keytruda patent cliff, which remains a longer-term risk even as near-term news flow is positive. SLS Vs MLTX: Retail Traders Race To Pick Merck’s Next Biotech Buyout...

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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