MML Investors Services LLC Has $43.45 Million Holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• MML Investors Services LLC increased its Merck stake by 19.3% in the fourth quarter, ending with 412,767 shares valued at about $43.45 million.
• Other institutions also added to Merck, and overall institutional ownership stands at 76.07%, signaling broad professional investor interest in the stock.
• Merck’s latest earnings beat expectations, and Wall Street remains constructive overall with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $128.18.

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 19.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 412,767 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,863 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $43,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 576,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,731,000 after buying an additional 24,576 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 48.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 97,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,296,000 after buying an additional 32,114 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 13,940 shares during the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 39.9% during the third quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 347,684 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,181,000 after buying an additional 99,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the third quarter valued at about $1,866,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $128.18.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

NYSE MRK opened at $115.03 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $284.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.21. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $116.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.38. Merck & Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.66 and a twelve month high of $125.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s payout ratio is presently 95.77%.

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.