Rossmore Private Capital Trims Stock Position in Merck & Co., Inc. $MRK

Rossmore Private Capital cut its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 57,421 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,661 shares during the quarter. Rossmore Private Capital's holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $6,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Chesapeake Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Chesapeake Wealth Management now owns 14,740 shares of the company's stock worth $1,552,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Syverson Strege & Co increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Merck & Co., Inc. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 23,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,819,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 76.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Merck & Co., Inc. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each combined with Padcev, for use before and after surgery in adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This expands Merck’s flagship oncology franchise and could add to future revenue. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive, with Morgan Stanley slightly raising its price target and RBC Capital reiterating a Buy rating. That suggests Wall Street still sees upside despite the stock’s recent run. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Merck continues to attract investor attention thanks to strong year-to-date performance, a solid dividend yield, and a long record of dividend growth, which may support demand for the shares. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent coverage also notes Merck is one of the more widely watched healthcare names on Zacks, but these mentions do not appear to add any new fundamental catalyst on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the upbeat news flow, the shares also face ongoing valuation and post-KEYTRUDA exclusivity concerns, which may limit upside if investors focus on Merck’s long-term patent risk. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $112.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Monday, July 6th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $138.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $132.72.

Merck & Co., Inc. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MRK stock traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $123.72. 8,388,403 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,797,806. The firm has a market cap of $305.56 billion, a PE ratio of 34.85, a PEG ratio of 2.65 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 quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $118.83 and a 200 day moving average of $116.28.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $16.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.85 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 27.55%. Merck & Co., Inc.'s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.22 earnings per share. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.040-5.160 EPS. Analysts expect that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 5.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Merck & Co., Inc.'s 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.

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.