Navigation Group LLC Invests $1.24 Million in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Key Points

• Navigation Group LLC opened a new position in Merck & Co. during the first quarter, buying 10,265 shares valued at about $1.24 million.
• Institutional interest in Merck remains strong, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 76.07% of the stock.
• Analysts are broadly positive on Merck, with several raising price targets and the stock carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and a $133.94 average price target.

Navigation Group LLC purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,235,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. High Note Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 294 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Merck & Co., Inc. during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MRK shares. CICC Research assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America upped their target price on Merck & Co., Inc. from $130.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. One 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $133.94.

Merck & Co., Inc. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MRK opened at $123.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $305.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.19. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.66 and a 1 year high of $130.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $119.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 27.55% and a net margin of 13.59%.The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.22 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. 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.